The following is a summary of “Pediatric Fellowship-Trained Anesthesiologists Improve Anesthesia-Controlled Time in a Pediatric Endoscopy Suite,” published in the June 2023 issue of Pediatrics by Carlson, et al.
For a study, researchers sought to compare the anesthesia-controlled time (ACT) between subspecialty-trained pediatric anesthesiologists and general anesthesiologists during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy. The hypothesis was that pediatric anesthesiologists would have a shorter ACT than general anesthesiologists.
A retrospective analysis was conducted on pediatric endoscopy cases that required general endotracheal anesthesia within a pediatric sedation unit from 2017 to 2020. Demographic and procedural variables were collected and assessed for potential confounding. A generalized linear model (GLM) controlled the imbalance in baseline variables. The GLM had a model fit of adjusted R2 = 0.146 and was statistically significant with a P-value < 0.001. A priori power analysis indicated a minimum sample size of 64 patients per group to detect a mean difference of 3 minutes of ACT, with a 2-tailed independent means t-test, alpha = 0.05, and power = 0.80.
A total of 269 cases met the inclusion criteria. The adjusted results showed that fellowship-trained pediatric anesthesiologists were associated with a 3.7-minute reduction in ACT (95% CI: 2.005-5.478, P < 0.001) compared to general practice anesthesiologists. Patient age was also associated with a 0.4-minute decrease in ACT (95% CI: -0.558 to -0.243, P < 0.001) for each advancing year in age.
There was an association between the subspecialty training of the anesthesiology provider and ACT for EGDs and colonoscopies. The use of pediatric anesthesiologists for these procedures was linked to a reduction in ACT, potentially leading to cost savings and improved efficiency.
Source: journals.lww.com/jpgn/Abstract/2023/06000/Pediatric_Fellowship_Trained_Anesthesiologists.22.aspx
