Preoperative assessment and preparation for anaesthesia in children

Providing anaesthesia for children presents many challenges, but careful preoperative assessment and preparation can enable the experience to be positive for the child, parents and anaesthetist. The aims of the preoperative assessment are to gather information from the notes, child and family, plan an appropriate anaesthetic technique, allow assessment of risk, deliver information to the child and family and enable a degree of psychological preparation for the anaesthetic experience. This article discusses aspects of paediatric preoperative assessment and preparation which are designed to facilitate the patient journey with maximum efficiency and minimum upheaval.