This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on Web of Science (3)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Anesthesia  • Anesthesia of Head & Neck  • Pediatric Otolaryngology  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Paul W. Bauer, MD; Judith E. C. Lieu, MD; Dana L. Suskind, MD; Rodney P. Lusk, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127:1477-1480.

Objective  To demonstrate the safety of conscious sedation in draining peritonsillar abscesses (PTAs).

Design  Children diagnosed as having a PTA in the pediatric emergency department were identified, and their medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Results of the present study were compared with those of a previous report.

Setting  A tertiary referral children's hospital pediatric emergency department.

Participants  Ninety-one consecutive children initially evaluated in the emergency department and managed for a PTA.

Interventions  Peritonsillar abscess incision and drainage with or without sedation. A team of physicians whose activities were documented on a formal conscious-sedation record was present. Patients were monitored for major and minor complications.

Outcome Measures  The primary outcome measures were major and minor complications. Secondary outcome measures were recurrence of PTA and the need for admission.

Results  There were 62 episodes of conscious sedation for drainage of a PTA. Among the 91 patients, 3 had a recurrence and 24 were admitted after the procedure. A previous study evaluated 30 episodes of conscious sedation for drainage of a PTA. No major complications occurred in either series. Combining the previous data with the present data produced 92 episodes of conscious sedation for drainage of a PTA. The 1-sided upper 95% confidence limit for the rate of major complications is 3.2%.

Conclusion  Our series, when combined with previously published data, demonstrates that conscious sedation can be safely used when draining a PTA in pediatric patients.

From the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, St Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mo (Drs Bauer, Lieu, and Lusk); and the Section of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill (Dr Suskind).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLE

Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127(12):1521-1522.
FULL TEXT