Paediatric day case anaesthesia: estimate of its quality at home.
The aim of this clinical audit was to evaluate the home recovery and complications of 104 daycase anaesthetized children, as well as parent satisfaction. A questionnaire, explained at the time of preoperative visit, was given to parents at hospital discharge and returned by mail. Opioids were administered in 19% of the children whereas regional anaesthesia was performed in 28% of cases. In the recovery room, 8% of them suffered pain. At home, pain was the main problem (25%) and vomiting and agitation were found in 9% and 6% of the cases respectively. Parents reported anxiety in 45% of cases, and 14% called their general practitioner. Nevertheless, 94% were satisfied with the anaesthetic. A clinical audit is useful in detecting management deficiencies. Quality of home recovery may be improved by: wider use of perioperative analgesia, systematic prescription of take-home analgesia, designation of a hospital practitioner for advice, and closer collaboration with general practitioners.
Grenier
B
B
Department of Anaesthesiology 3, Hôpital Pellegrin, Bordeaux, France.
Dubreuil
M
M
Siao
D
D
Meymat
Y
Y
D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D000698:Analgesia; D000762:Anesthesia Recovery Period; D000765:Anesthesia, Conduction; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002648:Child; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010290:Parents; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires