Pro: anesthesia for children in the developing world should be delivered by medical anesthetists.
Outcomes from pediatric surgery when carried out by trained pediatric anesthetists are excellent. This is not the case when the anesthesia provider is poorly trained. The presence of pediatric anesthetists is not only the norm but considered mandatory for children below the age of 2-3 years in developed countries. There are many reasons why trained anesthetists are not readily available in developing countries - migration to greener pastures, inadequate training facilities, poor remuneration and support services being some of them. These problems should be addressed but safety of the children should not be compromised. One should not condone poor standards to deprive children of safe anesthesia and the caregiver of much needed self-respect.
Jacob
Rebecca
R
Department of Anesthesia, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamilnadu, India. rebeccajacob@hotmail.com
D000758:Anesthesia / Q000401:mortality / Q000592:standards*; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D006801:Humans; D012449:Safety; D000078329:Workforce