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Despite the use of dual antiemetic agents, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) occurs in an unacceptably large number of patients post-tonsillectomy. There has been increased interest in alternative and non-pharmacological treatments for PONV e.g., chewing gum. We investigated if chewing a large confectionary jelly snake had prophylactic antiemetic effects postoperatively in young children. 

Airway management is required during general anaesthesia and is essential for life-threatening conditions such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Evidence from recent trials indicates a high incidence of critical events during airway management, especially in neonates or infants. It is important to define the optimal techniques and strategies for airway management in these groups.

Perioperative pain management impacts patient morbidity, quality of life, and hospitalization cost. In children, it impacts not only the child, but the whole family. Adjuncts for improved perioperative analgesia continue to be sought to minimize adverse side effects associated with opioids and for those in whom regional or neuraxial anesthesia is not suitable.

Monitoring children's recovery postoperatively is important for routine care, research, and quality improvement. Although telephone follow-up is common, it is also time-consuming and intrusive for families. Using SMS messaging to communicate with families regarding their child's recovery has the potential to address these concerns. While a previous survey at our institution indicated that parents were willing to communicate with the hospital by SMS, data on response rates for SMS-based postoperative data collection is limited, particularly in pediatric populations.

Tracheostomy tubes act as foreign bodies, predisposing the surrounding airway to respiratory infections. Initial treatment for infections is topical - nebulized tobramycin - although guidelines for standardized treatment are lacking.

We investigated how syndromic versus nonsyndromic forms of micrognathia impacted difficult intubation outcomes in children. Primary outcome was the first-attempt success rate of tracheal intubation, secondary outcomes were number of intubation attempts and complications. We hypothesized that syndromic micrognathia would be associated with lower first-attempt success rate.

Patient positioning interacts with a number of body systems and can impact clinically important perioperative outcomes. In this educational review, we present the available evidence on the impact that patient positioning can have in the pediatric perioperative setting. A literature search was conducted using search terms that focused on pediatric perioperative outcomes prioritized by contemporary research in this area.

Children experience significant pain following extracapsular tonsillectomy surgery, and while opioids are often prescribed to treat this, clinicians may be wary of their adverse side effects, leading to variation in practice. There is a need for improved post-tonsillectomy pain management in children. 

Pain is a common experience associated with healthcare for children, who often recall it as the worst part of hospitalisation. Several factors make assessment of pain more challenging in children. Families have previously identified the development of improved tools to assess pain in children as a key priority. We therefore sough to investigate the nature of this experience from the perspective of children and their parents to inform the development of such tools.

Little evidence exists on the postoperative trajectory after paediatric orthopaedic surgery. Pain and behavioural disturbance can have short- and long-term impacts on children and their families. An improved understanding of procedure-specific postoperative trajectories can enhance recovery. The primary outcome was to examine the duration and severity of postoperative pain experienced by children undergoing 10 commonly performed orthopaedic procedures.