Paediatric anaesthesia: a risky business?

Abstract

The definition of risk is “the chance or possibility of danger, loss or injuryâ€.^.1 Assessing risk in paediatric anaesthesia depends on the angle from which the problem is approached: the patients and their parents, doctors, hospital managers, policy makers or insurance companies. For the child (the patient), the risks involve a variety of factors, including the medication choices that the anaesthetist makes, the potential for neurodegeneration (high on the risk list for neonates and infants), whether the anaesthetist is satisfactorily qualified and experienced to provide adequate perioperative care so that the infant wakes up safely, and monitoring of the operation in accordance with local and international safety standards of care.