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, the parents and the 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. Here, we discuss aspects of paediatric preoperative assessment and preparation that are designed to facilitate the patient's experience of anaesthesia with maximum efficiency and minimum upheaval.