Paediatric Perioperative Life Support: Safety in the Fast Lane

Abstract

In the 1907s a dedicated group of physicians involved in the emergency care of children in North America, pioneered solutions regarding critically ill children. With that commitment, Paediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) has evolved to be the benchmark for resuscitation training in paediatric clinical disciplines world-wide, The AHA’s PALS Course has been updated with new science [1]. Of equal relevance in resuscitation medicine, the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) has published guidelines for paediatric life support [2]. ERC acknowledges that flexibility is required in crisis management due to differences in infrastructure support. Paediatric anaesthesiologists will benefit from reviewing the different scenarios that endanger the safety of a child under their care.