The American Academy of Pediatrics has revised its policy statement on facility-based requirements for pediatric anesthesia.
The AAP last updated the policy statement in 2015. The new guidance reflects recent safety and quality data from the Wake Up Registry, which includes adverse event data from 40 U.S. children’s hospitals, according to a Feb. 23 news release from the organization.
Serious perioperative events occur in about 0.11% of pediatric cases, registry data shows. Among patients 6 months and younger, the serious adverse event rate is 0.36%. The most common events are cardiac arrests, respiratory complications and medication errors.
Nearly one-third of anesthesia-related adverse events are medication errors, according to the registry. “Overall, 85% of anesthesia-related serious events” are “somewhat or almost certainly preventable,” the AAP’s policy statement said.
To prevent this, hospitals, hospital-adjacent surgical centers and ASCs should ensure they have appropriate equipment, trained staff and protocols for pediatric anesthesia care, according to the policy statement.
The policy statement now includes an emphasis on credentialing clinicians who provide anesthesia to children, each facility having acute pain control policies and opioid stewardship programs, the critical role of behavioral health clinicians, and continuous quality improvement and safety programs.
