Journal of Pediatric Care

Presence of parents at induction and recovery as a methodology for reducing anxiety of parents and children in pediatric surgery

EuroSciCon Conference on Pediatrics 2017
November 13-14, 2017 London, UK

Fernanda Barros

Sao Joao Hospital, Portugal

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Pediatr Care

DOI: 10.21767/2471-805X-C1-003

Abstract

Painful procedures are a necessary part of pediatric care. Anesthesia induction is a stressful event for children and their parents, and may have potentially harmful consequences on the patientâ�?�?s physiological and mental situa�?¬tion. Parental presence at induction of anaesthesia (PPIA) is desirable if it makes the child happier and more cooperative. Stressful anesthesia induction has psychological adverse effects that recur with repeated anesthesia, they can lead to increased pediatric discomfort during the recovery period, and may induce reactionary postoperative behavior. Nightmares, separation anxiety, eating disorders, and bedwetting have been reported as confirmed outcomes of anxiety among children. High anxiety levels have a higher risk of expressing negative behaviors after surgery, and higher parental anxiety levels are directly associated with childrenâ�?�?s preoperative anxiety levels. Preoperative sedative drugs are routinely recommended to manage anxiety of pediatric patients during surgeries. Several studies have suggested the use of oral midazolam. Other studies have reported that PPIA not only has the same effect, but also has considerably better impact on pediatric anxiety control compared to oral midazolam. Other reports have shown that PPIA does not have a positive effect on anxiety levels of children. The stress this causes to the parents and whether they are upset by this experience is not well documented. It is equally important to evaluate their attitude towards witnessing their child being anesthetized. Because the level of satisfaction of parents and their child can be a measure of the health care quality, we designed a study to evaluate if the previous information, PPIA and recovery had reduced the anxiety of parents and children in paediatric surgery in our hospital. We concluded that with previous information, PPIA and recovery there were lower levels of parental and childâ�?�?s anxiety, children were more comfortable, suggesting a good health care quality.