Albuterol and Pediatric Perioperative Respiratory Complications

To the Editor Perturbations of the respiratory system are common in children during general anesthesia, especially following tonsillectomy. Many complications (mild desaturations and airway obstruction) are relatively benign and easily remedied, although some, such as laryngospasm and bronchospasm, are severe and lead to rapid escalation of care in the perioperative environment. Fortunately, severe complications during pediatric anesthesia are uncommon. This rarity makes them hard to study owing to the prohibitive sample size needed to power such studies. Consequently (and to improve statistical efficiency), investigators often use a composite primary outcome: perioperative respiratory adverse events (PRAE).
Source: JAMA Pediatrics - Category: Pediatrics Source Type: research