Clinical complications in pediatric anesthesia

Complications in the perioperative care of children range from very minor to devastating. This chapter describes some of the most common and severe complications that may be encountered in the day-to-day care of children in the perioperative environment. Limited space prohibits an exhaustive review of all the existing data pertaining to the topic, and for many complications, data, especially pediatric-specific data, are either lacking or insufficient to provide the reader with thoughtful guidance. Nonetheless, for many commonly encountered situations and most serious problems, data are available for clinicians to develop strategies and to stratify risk in a way that allows them to provide the best care possible to the children under their care. Covered in this chapter are cardiac arrest, malignant hyperthermia, toxicity to local anesthetics, propofol infusion syndrome, positioning injuries, latex allergy, and anaphylaxis.