[Procedural sedation and analgesia with nitrous oxide for children in the emergency department]

Procedural sedation and analgesia with nitrous oxide in children who are anxious or in pain is a relatively new type of sedation in emergency departments in the Netherlands. The gas is inhaled through a face mask and does not require intravenous access. Furthermore, nitrous oxide does not influence the circulatory and respiratory systems and airway reflexes remain intact, which means that the child does not need to be fasted. Children who are treated with nitrous oxide experience significantly less pain and discomfort compared to the application of conventional analgesia. Satisfaction levels are also high amongst patients' parents. This type of sedation can be used in virtually any procedure that causes the child to be anxious and where psychological behaviour change techniques will likely not suffice. Since only light sedation is induced, the general consensus is that this technique can also be applied safely by non-anaesthetists.