This site is intended for UK healthcare professionals
Medscape UK Univadis Logo
Medscape UK Univadis Logo
News

Compliance with national guidance on paediatric elective surgery

A significant proportion of paediatric units are not adhering to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) guidelines for the recovery of elective paediatric surgery, according to research published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

A survey was distributed to anaesthetists and surgeons in all 26 UK specialist paediatric surgery centres during October 2020. Sixteen centres responded.

All 16 were aware of the guidance and had implemented some recommendations.

However, contrary to guidance, children, parents/carers and siblings were being asked to self-isolate prior to elective admission in 75 per cent, 50 per cent and 31 per cent of centres, respectively.

Parental screening of COVID-19 symptoms was performed in 13/16 (81%) centres and parental swabbing in 5/16 (31%). All centres processed SARS-CoV-2 swabs within 72 hours of surgery, but only 11/15 (69%) used local testing.

Twenty-five per cent (4/16) of centres would cancel elective surgery if the child was mildly coryzal on admission, despite a negative swab, and only two (12.5%) centres would use rapid polymerase chain reaction testing.

Contrary to guidance, 4/16 centres delay for up to 20 minutes between moving children from the anaesthetic room into theatre after aerosol-generating procedures; only two centres remove laryngeal masks in recovery.

The authors say some of these practices are likely to have a negative impact children and families. For example, they say, mandating preoperative isolation does not substantially reduce risk of infection but may affect the child’s education and family earnings.

The authors urge centres to implement the recommendations and remove barriers to the efficient recovery of children’s surgical services.


References


YOU MAY ALSO LIKE