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Parents in the anaesthetic room--parents' and anaesthetists' views
A W McEwen1, L D Caldicott, I Barker
1Department of Anaesthetics, Sheffield Children's Hospital.
Insights
Parental presence during anesthesia induction benefits children, with most parents wanting to stay. While anaesthetists found fewer parents helpful, the majority of parents felt they aided their child
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Parental presence during anesthesia induction is a debated practice.
- Understanding parental and anaesthetist perspectives is crucial for optimizing the perioperative experience for children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare parents' and anaesthetists' views on the benefits of parental presence during anesthesia induction.
- To assess the impact of parental presence on children undergoing daycase surgery.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire-based study involving 194 unpremedicated children (aged 1-16 years) undergoing daycase surgery.
- Data collected from 184 accompanying parents and anaesthetists regarding their perceptions of parental helpfulness and child distress.
Main Results:
- Most parents (184/194) felt their child benefited from their presence.
- Anaesthetists rated only 72% of parents as helpful.
- Parents who had prior anesthesia experience were less likely to report feeling upset (60% vs 79%).
- A significant difference was observed in perceived child upset, with anaesthetists (31%) more likely than parents (43%) to feel the child was upset (p < 0.01).
- Parents who felt upset were more likely to perceive their child as upset (p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- The majority of parents believe their presence is beneficial during anesthesia induction, irrespective of their own emotional experience.
- 98% of parents desired to accompany their child in the future, supporting the continuation of this practice.
- Parental presence should be permitted unless overriding medical or logistical considerations exist.
Abstract:
In this study parents' and anaesthetists' views were compared, by means of questionnaire, to assess the benefit of parental presence at induction. One hundred and ninety four unpremedicated children aged 1-16 years underwent daycase surgery. One hundred and eighty four parents accompanied their child and felt that their child benefited from this. Anaesthetists rated only 72% of parents as being helpful. Parents who had undergone anaesthesia in the past were less likely, 60% compared with 79% (p < 0.01), to consider themselves as upset than parents who had not. Thirty one percent (44/140) of anaesthetists, compared with 43% (60/140) of parents, felt the child was upset at induction (p < 0.01). Parents judging themselves to be upset at induction were significantly more likely to consider their child as upset (p < 0.01). Most parents feel that they are of help in the anaesthetic room regardless of whether or not they find it an upsetting experience. Ninety eight per cent would want to accompany their child in the future and we believe this should be allowed unless there are overriding considerations.