Pediatric dermatologic procedures performed outside the operating room.
OBJECTIVE
Pediatric dermatologic procedures performed outside of the operating room are often painful and frequently require general anesthesia. Laser procedures constitute a relatively small but significant group of the growing number of these encounters. This article reviews relevant dermatological pathophysiology, current treatment modalities and collates currently available evidence to inform the best practice in anesthetic care of these patients.


RESULTS
There is a paucity of recently published data pertaining to this group; most earlier studies were reported in the dermatological literature and may not be familiar to anesthesiologists. One very large study has reported on the safety of various anesthetic techniques in similar out-of-operating room circumstances.


CONCLUSIONS
Anesthesiologists are increasingly providing care for children undergoing dermatologic out-of-operating room procedures. Similar general considerations for out-of-operating room anesthesia equally apply to children undergoing these procedures. There are few recently reported data pertaining to this patient population and further work is needed.
Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington, Washington, USA. andrew.pittaway@seattlechildrens.org
Andrew J
AJ
Pittaway
D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D009873:Operating Rooms; D010372:Pediatrics; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*