ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the neonatal nurse’s knowledge and understanding of anaesthesia, so that he or she can provide the best possible care for vulnerable patients in the perioperative period along with their families at this stressful time. The demand for neonatal anaesthesia continues to grow due to the increased survival of premature infants born in the UK and elsewhere in the world annually, along with developments in surgical techniques for conditions previously considered inoperable. The incidence of respiratory distress syndrome and associated chronic lung disease increases with decreasing gestational age at birth, with infants of less than 32 weeks’ gestation being at particular risk. Persistent pulmonary hypertension results from constriction of the pulmonary vascular bed causing a delay or reversal of the transition from foetal to adult circulation. A number of different conditions can make airway management and tracheal intubation difficult. Down’s syndrome remains one of the most frequently occurring congenital syndromes.
