Caring for Kids vs. Adults Flashcards
Why do children deterioate rapidly
they have less of a phsyiological reserve
This is why early recongnition of a child in distress is essential
Anatomical differences in children vs adults
These differences are most pronounced in infancy
- In summary, infants and toddlers (younger than 2 years) have higher anterior airways. Children older than 8 years have airways similar to adults. The age range of 2 to 8 years old marks a transition period, when the above-mentioned anatomical differences may have varying effects on airway management.
What kind of breathing do infants do
Infants are considered to be obligated nose breather, meaning that they prefer to breath through their nose
Anatomy of the Tongue in Children
- In children the tongue is large compared to the oral cavity especially in infancy making the tongue a natural airway obstructer
- An oral airway should be a first line of defense when beginning bag-mask ventilation on an unconscious child to avoid tissue airway obstruction.
Tonsils and Adenoids in Children
- Children also have large tonsils and adenoids and large amounts of lymphoid tissue
- All of these are potential areas for swelling and can result in upper airway obstruction
- These can also be sources for bleeding during trauma or intubation, which will obstruct views and risk aspiration
Epiglottitis of a Child
- Larger
- Less flexible
- Omega or U shaped
- Lies more horizontally compared to adults
- More susceptible to trauma
Can make visulization more difficult during intubation
angle between the epiglottis and laryngeal opening in children
- The angle between the epiglottis and laryngeal opening is more acute in infants than in an adult, which makes blind nasal intubation difficult.
- Can make direct visualization difficult during intubation and blind nasal intubation
The Glottis in Infancy
- In infancy, the glottis begins at the first cervical vertebrae (C1)
- As the thorax and trachea grow, the glottis moves to C3 to C4 by age 7 and is located at C5 to C6 in adulthood.
- This makes the glottis in children higher and more anterior than in adults.
- This will make visulization more difficult with intubation
Cricoid Cartilage in Children
- The cricoid ring is the smallest portion of a child’s airway, whereas in adults the vocal cords are the smallest portion of the airway.
- An uncuffed endotracheal tube (ETT) provides an adequate seal in a small child because it fits snugly at the level of the cricoid ring.
- When using an uncuffed ETT, correct tube size is imperative because air can leak around an ETT that is too small, and tracheal damage can result from an ETT that is too large.
- Children have small cricothyroid membranes, and, in children younger than 3 years, it is virtually nonexistent. This means emergency surgical airway techniques such as needle cricothyrotomy and surgical cricothyrotomy are extremely difficult, if not impossible, in infants and small children.
Trachea in a child
- Smaller and shorter making extubation easier
- More malleable meaning it is more susceptible to change in shape when under pressure making it easier to collapse
- Smaller diameter which will increase resistacne as well as easier to obstruct
- Increased inspiratory pressure during respiratory distress causes increased negative intrathoracic pressure and can lead to collapse of the extrathoracic trachea.
Sniffing Position for Children
- With both adults and children, an effective way of opening the airway is to place the patient in the sniffing position, in which the patient’s head and chin are thrust slightly forward to keep the airway open.
- However, the occiput (back part of the skull) is larger in children and may cause flexion of the neck and inadvertent obstruction of the airway. To align the airway in an adult, a roll can be placed under the head. In children this is not needed, and infants may need a shoulder roll to achieve sniffing position.
Cricothyroid Membrane in Children
Smaller, virtually non-existant in children, younger than 3 years old
Needle cricothyroid and surgical cricothyroid are difficult in infants and small children
Thoracic Cage in Children
- An infant’s ribs and sternum are mostly cartilage, and the ribs lay more horizontally than do those of an adult. The thoracic cage thus offers little stability, and the chest wall will collapse with negative pressures.
- This makes retractions more pronounced in infants and most obvious in preterm infants. The cartilaginous ribs do, however, mean that closed-chest compressions from cardiopulmonary resuscitation do not usually cause rib fractures in children
- Ribs and sternum are mostly cartilage (infants)
Ribs lay more horizontal
* The thoracic cage offer little stability; the chest wall will collapse with negative pressure; retractions are more pronounced in infants
Belly Breathers in Children
- Breathing for infants is mostly diaphragmatic, making them abdominal or “belly breathers.”
- Instability of the thoracic cage makes it difficult to increase minute ventilation by increasing thoracic volume. Infants must drop the diaphragm more to increase tidal volume, which increases WOB.
- To avoid increased WOB, infants usually increase respiratory rate to increase minute ventilation.
Diaphragm in children
Main action for breathing in infants
Infants known as belly breather increase WOB when increasing tidal volume
Mainstem Bronchus in Children
Right mainstem angle lower
Right mainstem intubation and right foreign body obstruction are more frequent
Conducting Airway in Children
- At birth, the number of conducting airways is completely developed. However, airway diameter increases with lung growth.
- This explains the phenomenon of children “outgrowing” reactive airways disease. It is less likely that the swelling and smooth muscles are no longer reactive; rather, the degree of airway obstruction is less pronounced as a result of the increased airway diameter.
Alveoli in Children
Fewer at birth increase in number during childhood
No pores of Kohn (infants)
Infants decompensate more rapidly during airway obstruction
More respiratory distress during alveolar disease
Reasons for decreased FRC in Children
Larger heart in relation to thoracic cavity
Less elastic recoil
Abdomincal contents are larger and push up against diapgragm
Higher compliance
basal oxygen consumption of children
- Furthermore, the basal oxygen consumption of children is twice that of adults: 6 mL O2/kg for children versus 3 mL O2/kg for adults.
- The clinical implication of lower pulmonary reserve and increased oxygen consumption is that children will desaturate more rapidly than will adults.
- Recommendations for airway management suggest that clinicians should be prepared to provide bag-mask ventilation with 1.0 FIO2 if a child’s oxygen saturation falls below 90%
MAP in children
- Once blood pressure is obtained, the calculation to determine mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) is:
MAP = 1/3 systolic pressure + 2/3 diastolic pressure
- MAP is often used in the pediatric setting to evaluate blood pressure stability and effectiveness of cardiac inotropic and sympathomimetic therapies.
Crying in Infants
- Crying can also increase WOB in an infant up to 32-fold (5), so it is imperative to try to keep young children in respiratory distress as calm as possible. Keeping them in a quiet, comfortable environment with familiar people will help alleviate anxiety and minimize additional respiratory distress.
Breath Sounds in Infants
- Breath sounds may be more difficult to distinguish in very young children, and vocal noise transmissions are more common as a result of whining and crying during auscultation.
Contraindication to ABG in Children
- These include a modified Allen’s test result indicating lack of collateral circulation (another extremity should be chosen) or a lesion or surgical shunt proximal to the patient on the same limb.
- If there is evidence of infection or peripheral vascular disease involving the selected limb, an alternate site should be selected.
- A coagulopathy or high-dose anticoagulation therapy such as heparin or Coumadin may be a relative contraindication for arterial puncture.