Paediatric Emergence Delirium: An Approach to Diagnosis and Management in the Postanaesthesia Care Unit

Abstract

Approximately 20-30% of children display emergence delirium in the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU). This complication of exposure to volatile anaesthesia is largely predictable, preventable and treatable. A proposed approach to the delirious child in the PACU is presented, focusing on the exclusion of more serious causes of agitation.