National survey of pediatric anesthesia practice in Thailand

To assess current pediatric anesthesia practice for further education from Royal College of Anesthesiologists of Thailand.

A questionnaire was sent to 500 anesthetists in public hospitals in January 2010 to investigate preoperative data, intraoperative data, postoperative pain management, ambulatory anesthesia, and pediatric anesthesia training requirement.

Response rate was 30.6%. Preoperative fasting and infective endocarditis (IE) prophylaxis were appropriate except that half the anesthesiologists preferred giving antibiotics in non-cyanotic heart diseases and ordering complete blood count as a routine investigation in healthy patients undergoing minor surgery. Premedication was preferred in children and adolescents. Parental presence during induction was most often selected in children (74.5%). Modified Ayre T-piece was the most popular breathing circuit used during induction while circle circuit was more likely used during maintenance period. Manual ventilation was preferred in neonates. Scavenging system was rarely used Intraoperative fluid was given based on Holliday & Segar Law (> 90%). Isotonic fluid without glucose was preferred for replacement of third space loss and hypotonic fluid with glucose was preferred for maintenance fluid. Transfusion trigger was inversely correlated with age. Postoperative pain scales were more often used in children and adolescents. Fentanyl was more popular in younger age group. Intermittent intravenous administration was the most preferred route. Age group of infants and older were predominantly accepted to be anaesthetized on an ambulatory basis. Pediatric advanced life support was seldom performed. Intermittent training was more popular than certified fellowship training.

Routine investigation in healthy patients, IE prophylaxis in non-cyanotic patients, intraoperative fluid replacement, and pediatric advanced life support and postoperative pain management were the issues recommended for further education.