Our hospital has adopted procedural sedation as a standard protocol for young patients who are undergoing procedures that require the child to keep still. This practice is found to be a very safe process.
In procedural sedation, medicines are used to sedate children who need to undergo short and/or painful hospital procedures. These include:
The sedation may be given orally or via injection. Many outpatients procedures can be done under PSA, hence your child may not need not be admitted. In painful procedures, analgesic (painkillers) and/or local anaesthetic medications are used to relieve pain. After the procedure, the pain is relieved by oral medication (eg. Paracetamol). He/she will be monitored closely for breathing and other functions throughout the procedure.
Commonly used drugs are:
Side effects of the medicines used for PSA include:
Most side effects are self-limiting and usually resolve after one to two hours, or after treatment.
It is rare for the child to develop a bad allergic reaction to the medicines used in PSA such as sudden tightness of voice-box affecting breathing. Appropriate treatment will be given to minimise side effects.
Yes. A minimum of three hours of fasting is necessary before the appointment time, or as instructed by the doctor or nurse.
Fasting instructions:Please ensure that the last meal is light: plain milk (maximum one cup) with plain biscuits or plain bread (maximum two pieces). Heavy oily meals can cause child to vomit and the food can go into the lungs causing life-threatening complications. This is because heavy oily meals tend to stay longer in the stomach and increase the risk of vomiting.
No. It is advisable to reschedule another appointment in the event of acute illness after seven days of the appointment.
You may want to take note of the following:
You should bring your child to the Children's Emergency at Children's Tower, Basement 1 in the following situations:
For outpatient appointments, please arrive 45 minutes before the procedure time for:
As consent may be required, a parent/legal guardian should accompany the child for the procedure. Bring along a favourite toy/pillow and adequate milk powder and diapers.
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