Artificial intelligence is an ever-growing modality revolutionizing the field of medical science. It utilizes various computational models and algorithms and helps out in different sectors of healthcare. Here, in this scoping review, we are trying to evaluate the use of Artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of pediatric anesthesia, specifically in the more challenging domain, the pediatric airway. Different components within the domain of AI include machine learning, neural networks, deep learning, robotics, and computer vision. Electronic databases like Google Scholar, Cochrane databases, and Pubmed were searched. Different studies had heterogeneity of age groups, so all studies with children under 18 years of age were included and assessed. The use of AI was reviewed in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative domains of pediatric anesthesia. The applicability of AI needs to be supplemented by clinical judgment for the final anticipation in various fields of medicine.

Childhood obesity is a rapidly growing global health issue, linked to significant lifelong morbidity and mortality. Its impact on various organ systems increases perioperative complications. Obesity treatment in children and adolescents involves lifestyle, dietary, and behavioral modifications, as well as pharmacologic interventions that targets hormonal, metabolic, and neurochemical abnormalities. Metabolic and bariatric surgery, proven safe and effective for adults with severe obesity (class 2 or higher), is now being recommended for adolescents. Key anesthetic considerations for these surgeries include preoperative optimization, advanced airway management, targeted ventilation strategies, and opioid-sparing analgesic regimens. Comprehensive presurgical evaluations must address co-morbid conditions such as hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, and impaired glycemic control. Preoperative management should also consider the effects of antiobesity medications on gastric emptying and hemodynamic stability. Ventilation strategies should prevent atelectasis while avoiding barotrauma, and drug dosages must be adjusted for altered pharmacokinetics due to increased adipose tissue. Employing enhanced recovery after surgery protocols may reduce perioperative complications, shorten postsurgical stays, and improve outcomes.

Patients with congenital heart disease are living longer due to improved medical and surgical care. Congenital heart disease encompasses a wide spectrum of defects with varying pathophysiology and unique anesthetic challenges. These patients often present for noncardiac surgery before or after surgical repair and are at increased risk for perioperative morbidity and mortality. Although there is no singular safe anesthetic technique, identifying potential error traps and tailoring perioperative management may help reduce morbidity and mortality. In this article, we discuss five error traps based on the collective experience of the authors. These error traps can occur when providing perioperative care to patients with congenital heart disease for noncardiac surgery and we present potential solutions to help avoid adverse outcomes.

The incidence of perioperative adverse events in children aged 0 to 15 years was 5.2%. Preoperative scientific and accurate anesthesia assessment is a crucial step in ensuring the safety of pediatric surgery. Perioperative risk prediction is a digital quantitative evaluation of the level of perioperative risk, which classifies the degree of danger. In order to further standardize the methods of anesthesia assessment and identify risk factors, Chinese Society of Anesthesiology organized experts in anesthesiology from children\'s specialty hospitals and general hospitals, along with statisticians from public health colleges, to jointly draft the \"Chinese expert consensus on pediatric anesthesia assessment and perioperative risk prediction (2024 edition)\".The anesthesia assessment includes history collection, physical examination, laboratory examination, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, difficult airway assessment, and identification and assessment of critically sick children. Perioperative risk prediction includes preoperative anxiety, perioperative respiratory adverse events, regurgitation and aspiration, emergence delirium, postoperative nausea and vomiting, postoperative ICU admission, postoperative acute kidney injury, perioperative mortality, and risk prediction for in-hospital mortality in children with congenital heart disease undergoing non-cardiac surgery.This consensus has formulated a total of 16 recommendations, aiming to promote anesthesiologists\' familiarity with the content of pediatric anesthesia assessment, identify risk factors for adverse events during the perioperative period, and take targeted measures to reduce the occurrence of adverse events and improve the safety of children during the perioperative period.
0~15岁儿童围手术期不良事件的发生率为5.2%，术前科学准确的麻醉评估是保障患儿手术安全的重要环节，围手术期风险预测是以数字量化评价围手术期风险水平，对危险程度进行分层。为进一步规范儿童麻醉评估方法，识别危险因素，中华医学会麻醉学分会组织了儿童专科医院、综合性医院的麻醉学专家和公共卫生学院的统计学专家共同撰写了《儿童麻醉评估与围手术期风险预测中国专家共识（2024版）》。其中麻醉评估包括病史采集、体格检查、实验室检查、美国麻醉医师协会全身状况分级、困难气道评估、危重症患儿识别与评估等，围手术期风险预测包括术前焦虑、围手术期呼吸不良事件、反流误吸、苏醒期谵妄、术后恶心呕吐、术后转入儿童重症监护病房、术后急性肾损伤、围手术期死亡、非心脏手术先天性心脏病患儿院内死亡风险预测。本共识共形成16条推荐意见，旨在推动麻醉医师熟悉儿童麻醉评估的内容，识别围手术期不良事件的危险因素，并采取针对性措施降低不良事件的发生，提高患儿围手术期安全。.

Emergence delirium remains a clinically significant issue, which often leads to distress among pediatric patients, parents, and staff in the short term; and may also result in postoperative maladaptive behaviors persisting for weeks to months. Although several diagnostic tools are available, the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale is most often utilized. Many risk factors contributing to the likelihood of a pediatric patient developing emergence delirium have been identified; however, its accurate prediction remains challenging. Recently, intraoperative electroencephalographic monitoring has been used to improve the prediction of emergence delirium. Similarly, it may also prevent emergence delirium if the anesthesiologist ensures that the at-risk patient rouses only after the onset of appropriate electroencephalogram patterns, thus indicating a change to natural sleep. Prediction of at-risk patients is crucial; preventing emergence delirium may begin early during patient preparation by using non-pharmacological methods (i.e., the ADVANCE program). Intraoperative electroencephalographic monitoring can predict emergence delirium. This review also discusses a range of pharmacological treatment options which may assist the anesthesiologist in preventing emergence delirium among at-risk patients.

OBJECTIVE: Providing perioperative care for children who express anxiety or react with negative anxiety-associated consequences can be a challenge. The use of premedication is established as an important intervention for young children before surgery, yet research into care providers\' experiences of premedication is limited. The aim of this study was to explore perioperative staff\'s experiences of premedication for preschool-age children.
METHODS: A descriptive inductive qualitative study was performed based on focus group discussions.
METHODS: A purposive sample of a team from the operating department with experience in anesthetizing and caring for children in the perioperative period was interviewed in small focus groups: five preoperative and postoperative care nurses, five nurse anesthetists, and five anesthesiologists. The transcribed text was categorized using qualitative content analysis.
RESULTS: The content analysis revealed three themes: a matter of time, do not wake the sleeping bear, and on responsive tiptoes.
CONCLUSIONS: Care providers must adapt their work to the child\'s emotional state of mind and needs, allowing time for the child to trust and accept the premedication and for the premedication to reach its peak effect. Premedication provides light sleep preoperatively, which requires careful treatment of the child to avoid emotional reactions, and the postoperative path is most peaceful when the premedication supports a long duration of sedation. Our findings highlight the need for safety precautions and a permissive and flexible organization with the goal of achieving a smooth and safe journey for the child in the perioperative path.

When pediatric anesthesia emergencies occur, situations can deteriorate rapidly. At our hospital, the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia\'s (SPA) emergency algorithms are used as cognitive aids during crises, and nurses are tasked with accessing the algorithms. Operating room nurses\' typical workflow includes continuous display of the of the electronic health record (EHR) intraoperative navigator, which can delay navigating to the virtual desktop window and the algorithms\' icon. Thus, we implemented a button in the intraoperative navigator\'s toolbar to access the algorithms with one click. We conducted an observational study of the time required to access and display overhead an algorithm using the new button and old method. We surveyed participants on usability.

Emergence delirium is a complication of pediatric anesthesia during the early recovery period. Children undergoing ear, nose, and throat surgery are at high risk. The Pediatric Assessment of Emergence Delirium (PAED) scale is used for diagnosis and founded to specify the degree of emergence delirium. However, there is no consensus regarding a threshold value for emergence delirium diagnosis. Homeostasis-guided pediatric general anesthesia aims to maintain physiological parameters within normal ranges. In this prospective, observational study we evaluated the incidence of emergence delirium in children undergoing elective ear, nose, and throat surgery under standardized homeostasis-guided general anesthesia. Secondarily, we identified risk factors associated with an increased PAED score.
In children aged 0-6 years, we collected data from standard monitoring, depth of anesthesia, and preoperative glucose and ketone body levels. These variables were studied as risk or protective factors for increased PAED >0 scores using multivariate logistic regression.
Of the 105 children analyzed, only five children (4.7%) had emergence delirium according to a threshold PAED score ≥10, while 37 children (35%) had PAED scores >0. Statistical analysis of the PAED outcome identified two significant positive associations with pain (P<0.001) and preoperative blood glucose levels (P=0.006) and one negative association with preoperative ketone body levels (P<0.001).
Our cohort observed a lower incidence of emergence delirium than in the literature. Higher pain intensity and lower blood glucose levels were risk factors for PAED > 0, whereas preoperative ketone body levels were protective.

Israel is a young country with a rather young system of medical education. This educational review serves to illuminate the similarities and differences in the training of a pediatric Anesthesiologist in both Israel and Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative anxiety in children causes negative postoperative outcomes. Parental presence at induction is a non-pharmacological strategy for relieving anxiety; nevertheless, it is not always possible or effective, namely when parents are overly anxious. Parental presence via video has been demonstrated to be useful in other contexts (divorce, criminal court). This study reports the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effect of video parental presence and parental coaching at induction on preoperative anxiety.
METHODS: The study was a randomized, 2 × 2 factorial design trial examining parental presence (virtual vs. physical) and coaching (provided vs. not provided). Feasibility was assessed by enrollment rate, attrition rate, compliance, and staff satisfaction with virtual method with the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) and System Usability Scale (SUS). For the children\'s anxiety and postoperative outcomes, the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) and Post-Hospitalization Behavioral Questionnaire (PHBQ) were used. Parental anxiety was evaluated with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaire.
RESULTS: A total of 41 parent/patient dyads were recruited. The enrollment rate was 32.2%, the attrition rate 25.5%. Compliance was 87.8% for parents and 85% for staff. The SUS was 67.5/100 and 63.5/100 and NASA-TLX was 29.2 (21.5-36.8) and 27.6 (8.2-3.7) for the anesthesiologists and induction nurses, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found in mYPAS, PHBQ and STAI.
CONCLUSIONS: A randomized controlled trial to explore virtual parental presence effect on preoperative anxiety is feasible. Further studies are needed to investigate its role and the role of parent coaching in reducing preoperative anxiety.