Anesthetic considerations for pediatric outpatient surgery

At least 60% of all pediatric surgical procedures are performed as outpatients. Successful outpatient practice requires that both the patients and the procedures are appropriate for outpatient management. Appropriate scheduling ensures that the overall function of the outpatient unit is not compromised. While not all scheduled patients need be perfectly healthy, care must be taken to provide adequate resources to those patients who are not, without diverting resources away from other patients. Anesthesia must be managed with attention to the unique physiologic and psychological challenges of children. Anesthetic management of postoperative nausea and vomiting and provision of adequate postoperative analgesia, including regional techniques, are important elements of the care plan.