Anaesthesia and monitoring for paediatric radiotherapy

Four hundred and sixty-nine anaesthetics were given to 27 children between the ages of 18 months and 5 years so that they could receive radiotherapy. When ketamine was used as the sole anaesthetic agent, the induction of anaesthesia was frequently stressful and traumatic, with problems and difficulties being encountered during 24% of anaesthetics. A change to an entirely gaseous method of inducing and maintaining anaesthesia resulted in a much more acceptable service being offered to the children and the incidence of complications fell to only 4%. The problems of monitoring children whilst they receive radiotherapy under general anaesthesia are discussed, the merits of different methods are reviewed and the use of the capnograph is commended.