Sedation and analgesia when performing vascular access in children

The article discusses current approaches to anesthesia in providing vascular access in children in Russia and the framework of the existing problem and global practice. Several features of the child's body, such as small size, increased flexibility of the punctured vessel, expressed psycho-emotional and the child’s motor reaction to a potentially painful invasive procedure create significant additional difficulties in peripheral vein catheterization in children, especially at an early age, compared with adults. This fact until recently caused a high frequency of unsuccessful peripheral vein catheterizations in children and, as a result, a high percentage of punctures and central vein catheterizations, which in turn is associated with the risk of serious potentially life-threatening complications accompanying the puncture and catheterization of the latter. The article describes various, including non-pharmacological methods for inducing adequate sedation and analgesia during vein catheterization. The parents’ presence in the intensive care unit plays an essential role in non-pharmacological methods of child protection. It is a factor that reduces stress and psycho-emotional stress, both for the child and indirectly for the medical staff. Information from domestic and foreign sources on the use of various administration methods and various pharmacological drugs demonstrate the variety of approaches to solving this urgent problem. This article presents our research results showing the advantages of using a combination of methods and drugs that provide adequate anesthesia, expressed as an increase in successful peripheral vein catheterizations, the corresponding reduction in the unjustified number of central vein catheterizations, and the positive economic effect accompanying this dynamic.