ASA: Low unplanned admission for dental procedure plus other Sx

(HealthDay)—Few pediatric patients having a dental procedure combined with another surgical procedure require unplanned admission for perioperative concerns, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held from Oct. 22 to 26 in Chicago.

Hina Walia, M.B., B.S., from the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of 60 combined dental and surgical general anesthesia cases. Complete results were available for 55 patients (median age, 59 months) who underwent a median of three procedures under a single anesthetic.

The researchers found that the most common procedures performed in combination were tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, ear tube insertion, and bronchoscopy. Seven patients had perioperative complications, which included vomiting, pain, fever, and pneumonia. Four of these patients were admitted with perioperative concerns; eight other patients were admitted for reasons that were unrelated. Dental procedures included hygiene only (three patients), extraction (33 patients), and other procedures (18 patients), with one, five, and one complications, respectively. There was no significant difference in covariates for patients developing complications and other patients. American Society of Anesthesiologists class was significantly related to admission.

"It can be logistically complex to schedule several procedures at once, but combining them can decrease costs and pleases parents because their children don't have to undergo multiple recoveries, and can return to school and activities faster," a coauthor said in a statement.

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