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BackgroundCOVID-19 forced healthcare systems to make unprecedented changes in clinical care processes. The authors hypothesized that the COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted timely access to care, perioperative processes, and clinical outcomes for pediatric patients undergoing primary appendectomy.MethodsA retrospective, international, multicenter study was conducted using matched cohorts within participating centers of the international PEdiatric Anesthesia COVID-19 Collaborative (PEACOC). Patients younger than 18 yr old were matched using age, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status, and sex. The primary outcome was the difference in hospital length of stay of patients undergoing primary appendectomy during a 2-month period early in the COVID-19 pandemic (April to May 2020) compared with prepandemic (April to May 2019). Secondary outcomes included time to appendectomy and the incidence of complicated appendicitis.ResultsA total of 3,351 cases from 28 institutions were available with 1,684 cases in the prepandemic cohort matched to 1,618 in the pandemic cohort. Hospital length of stay was statistically significantly different between the two groups: 29 h (interquartile range: 18 to 79) in the pandemic cohort versus 28 h (interquartile range: 18 to 67) in the prepandemic cohort (adjusted coefficient, 1 [95% CI, 0.39 to 1.61]; P < 0.001), but this difference was small. Eight centers demonstrated a statistically significantly longer hospital length of stay in the pandemic period than in the prepandemic period, while 13 were shorter and 7 did not observe a statistically significant difference. During the pandemic period, there was a greater occurrence of complicated appendicitis, prepandemic 313 (18.6%) versus pandemic 389 (24.1%), an absolute difference of 5.5% (adjusted odds ratio, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.1 to 1.59]; P = 0.003). Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 testing was associated with significantly longer time-to-appendectomy, 720 min (interquartile range: 430 to 1,112) with testing versus 414 min (interquartile range: 231 to 770) without testing, adjusted coefficient, 306 min (95% CI, 241 to 371; P < 0.001), and longer hospital length of stay, 31 h (interquartile range: 20 to 83) with testing versus 24 h (interquartile range: 14 to 68) without testing, adjusted coefficient, 7.0 (95% CI, 2.7 to 11.3; P = 0.002).ConclusionsFor children undergoing appendectomy, the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact hospital length of stay.Editor’s perspective

Background: We investigated how syndromic versus nonsyndromic forms of micrognathia impacted difficult intubation outcomes in children. Primary outcome was the first‐attempt success rate of tracheal intubation, secondary outcomes were number of intubation attempts and complications. We hypothesized that syndromic micrognathia would be associated with lower first‐attempt success rate. Methods: In micrognathic patients enrolled in the Pediatric Difficult Intubation Registry (08/2012–03/2019) we retrospectively compared demographic and clinical characteristics between children with nonsyndromic and syndromic micrognathia using standardized mean differences (SMD) and assessed the association of the presence of syndrome with the primary and secondary outcomes using propensity score matching analysis with and without matching for airway assessment findings. Results: Nonsyndromic patients (628) were less likely to have additional airway abnormalities. Syndromic patients (216) were less likely to have unanticipated difficult intubation (2% vs. 20%, SMD 0.59). First‐attempt success rates of intubation were: 38% in the syndromic versus 34% in the nonsyndromic group (odds ratio [OR] 1.18; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 0.74, 1.89; p =.478), and 37% versus 37% (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.66, 1.48; p =.959). Median number of intubation attempts were 2 (interquartile range [IQR]: 1, 3; range: 1, 8) versus 2 (IQR: 1, 3; range 1, 12) (median regression coefficient = 0; 95% CI: −0.7, 0.7; p =.999) and 2 (IQR: 1, 3; range: 1, 12) versus 2 (IQR: 1, 3; range 1, 8) (median regression coefficient = 0; 95% CI: −0.5, 0.5; p =.999). Complication rates were 14% versus 22% (OR 0.6; 95% CI 0.34, 1.04; p =.07) and 16% versus 21% (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.43, 1.17; p =.185). Conclusions: Presence of syndrome was not associated with lower first‐attempt success rate on intubation, number of intubation attempts, or complication rate among micrognathic patients difficult to intubate, despite more associated craniofacial abnormalities. Nonsyndromic patients were more likely to have unanticipated difficult intubations, first attempt with direct laryngoscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective case-control study published in the journal Pediatric Anesthesia examined the impact of hyperammonemia, or elevated blood ammonia levels, on anesthetic requirements in children. The study analyzed processed electroencephalogram (EEG) data as a measure of anesthetic depth in hyperammonemic pediatric patients compared to healthy controls. The results showed that children with hyperammonemia exhibited greater anesthetic depth at lower anesthetic concentrations compared to age-matched controls without hyperammonemia. The study suggests that the presence of hyperammonemia is associated with enhanced sensitivity to anesthetics in pediatric patients. However, further research is needed to confirm these findings and understand the underlying mechanisms. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: Pediatric patients with uncorrected cyanotic congenital heart diseases may present for noncardiac surgery. Associated congenital defects and severe uncompensated secondary erythrocytosis may complicate their anesthetic management. We describe the uncomplicated anesthetic for open G-tube placement of an ex-premature 8-month-old infant with uncorrected tetralogy of Fallot, multiple associated congenital anomalies, and a preoperative hematocrit of 78% and review the anesthetic implications of severe polycythemia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]