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Background Preoperative anxiety is a common problem in the paediatric population, and several studies have reported that it is related to adverse events such as emergence delirium and postoperative psychological and behavioural changes. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to paediatric preoperative anxiety in China. A variety of strategies, including sedatives, parental presence, and audio-visual interventions, have been used to relieve paediatric preoperative anxiety, but there is no well-recognised procedure for paediatric preoperative sedation. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate current paediatric preoperative sedation practices in tertiary children’s hospitals in China. Methods All tertiary maternity and children’s hospitals registered with the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China were invited to participate in an electronic survey, which included information on the preoperative sedation caseload, sites where preoperative sedation was performed, preoperative sedation methods used in different age groups, choice of sedatives, contraindications for premedication, staff structure for sedative administration and monitoring, and patient-monitoring practices. Results All 81 hospitals participating in our study completed the survey, and 38 hospitals (46.9 %) provided their preoperative sedation protocols. Twenty-four hospitals performed fewer than 5,000 preoperative sedation cases annually, and 9 hospitals performed more than 10,000 cases annually. Preoperative sedation was performed in preoperative preparation areas, preoperative holding areas, and operation rooms in 47.4 %, 26.3 %, and 13.2 % of hospitals, respectively. Sedatives were the most used interventions for paediatric preoperative sedation in all age groups, and the most widely used sedatives were propofol (intravenous) and dexmedetomidine (intranasal). The most common contraindications were American Society of Anesthesiologists class ≥ 3, emergency operation, and airway infection within 2 weeks. Sedatives were administered mainly by anaesthesiologists (63.2 %), and children were monitored mainly by anaesthesiologists (44.7 %) and nurses (39.5 %) after administration. Pulse oximetry was the most widely used monitoring device. Conclusions Fewer than half of the tertiary maternity and children’s hospitals in China provide paediatric preoperative sedation service, and the service practices vary widely. Further improvements are required to ensure the quality of paediatric preoperative sedation services and establish standard operating procedures.

Background. Fontan operation is a palliative medical procedure performed on children with single-ventricle defects. As postoperative success of the procedure largely depends on the preload volume, it is necessary to maintain an appropriate pressure gradient between the systemic vein and the left atrium to ensure the effective volume of systemic circulation. However, there is a lack of effective indexes to evaluate fluid responsiveness in Fontan patients. Stroke volume variation (SVV) is a dynamic hemodynamic parameter based on cardiopulmonary interaction in mechanical ventilation. This study is aimed at validating the sensitivity and specificity of SVV and central venous pressure (CVP) in assessing the fluid responsiveness of Fontan patients. Method. Sixty-four children with single ventricle who underwent modified Fontan operation between May 2018 and January 2020 were included in this study. Patients were administered 10 ml·kg-1 albumin for fluid challenge within 10 min after cardiopulmonary bypass. Before and after fluid challenge, the invasive arterial pressure module was connected to MostCare™ equipment to collect the cardiac index (CI) and SVV dynamically in a time window of 30 s at a frequency of 1000 Hz. According to the range of CI change, patients with Δ CI ≥ 15 % were classified into the responder (R) group and those with Δ CI < 15 % into the nonresponder (NR) group. Using SVV and CVP as indicators, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the patients was established, and the area under curve (AUC), diagnostic threshold, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated. Results. The SVV values were 16.28% (25th and 75th percentiles 14.17%-19.24%) and 13.68% (25th and 75th percentiles 12.90%-15.89%) before and after fluid challenge treatment in responders, respectively, and the values were 18.60 ± 1.83 mmHg before and 20.20 ± 2.39 mmHg for CVP after treatment. The AUC of SVV was 0.74 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54-0.94, P < 0.05 ), and the cutoff value was 16%, offering a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 91.7%. Meanwhile, the AUC of CVP was 0.70 (95% CI 0.50-0.92, P > 0.05 ), and the cutoff value was 19.5 mmHg, offering a sensitivity of 58% and a specificity of 76%. Conclusion. SVV exhibited a good predictive value for fluid responsiveness in pediatric Fontan patients. Appropriate fluid therapy according to SVV could improve the cardiac function of such patients. Trial registration. This study was registered in Chinese Clinical Trail Registry on Jan 26, 2018. Registration number is ChiCTR1800014654. Registry URL is http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=25019. This observational prospective study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of Shanghai Children’s Medical Center affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SCMCIRB-K2017035).