[Pediatric patient sedation and analgesia for diagnostic medical procedures]

There is an increasing demand for anesthesiologists to work outside the operating room in order to provide general anesthesia or monitored sedation for a variety of medical investigations or procedures in infants and children. The concept that treatment should be a pain- and stress-free experience is now well accepted, and this has placed additional responsibilities on anesthesiologists. We describe pediatric anesthesia and monitored sedation for diagnostic medical procedures. Children requiring a painful procedure and prolonged examination should be provided with optimal sedation and analgesia. The child should be monitored with standard ASA monitors. In the case of medical procedures such as gastrointestinal endoscopy, transesophageal echocardiography, and cardiac catheterization, general endotracheal anesthesia with neuromuscular block is recommended. Several short-acting anesthetic drugs, including sevoflurane, propofol, remifentanil, and rocuronium, have become available in Japan, and the safety and efficacy of pediatric general anesthesia for diagnostic medical procedures have improved. Infants who require a noninvasive and short examination may not be provided with anesthetics. The feed and wrap method is recommended. Satisfactory immobilization of the child during noninvasive medical procedures, including magnetic resonance imaging, may be achieved by intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. Monitored intravenous sedation using propofol is the most widely used for healthy children; general anesthesia with a laryngeal mask airway or endotracheal intubation and controlled ventilation is required for a critically ill child.