Medical Student Univeristy of Central Florida College of Medicine Tampa, Florida, United States
Background: A vast majority of pediatric patients experience anxiety before undergoing surgery. In these instances, children are often given a sedative such as midazolam in the preoperative stage to ease their anxiety and encourage a calmer anesthesia induction. However, the adverse effects of these drugs may or may not affect the child's recovery in PACU. Objective: This study analyzes the effects of preoperative sedation on children undergoing tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A). Current literature examines the effects of midazolam on children under the age of 9 with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) undergoing T&A. This study adds to the body of knowledge because it includes children up to the age of 18 and diagnoses besides OSA. Additionally, this study is unique in that it accounts for the variability of practice as it compares two hospitals, Nemours Children’s Hospital (NCH) Delaware, and NCH, Florida. The significance of this study is anticipated to demonstrate that administering preoperative sedation will often result in a poor recovery experience for the patient in the PACU. Design/Methods: This project has been deemed exempt from further IRB review by the NCH IRB. Electronic medical records were reviewed of patients that underwent T&A in the last 5 years, 2018-2023, at the two hospitals mentioned above. 149 charts and their data have been collected and input into RedCap. 496 charts were excluded for lack of consistency in recording and/ or if the patient was previously diagnosed with a long-term comorbidity related to the patient’s pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, or neurological systems.
Collected data includes birthdate, preoperative sedation drug of choice, dosage, sex, weight, allergies, time spent in PACU, and adverse effects such as irritability/ anxiety, dizziness, nausea, headache, blurred/ double vision, vomiting, and hallucination. Data analysis will be conducted in SPSS. Specific tests to be performed include descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and t-test respectively. At this stage, the project is expected to be complete by 11/30/2023.
