Culture of Diversity in SPSBy Sue Kost, MD
SPS President
SPS President

Dear SPS Members, As I take on the presidency of the SPS, my youngest child is finishing his junior year of high school, and I have recently had the pleasure of sitting through nearly a dozen “information sessions” where college admissions officers extol the virtues of their various institutions. Chief among these virtues, touted by all, is that … [Read More...]
Annual Conference Reviews
Keynote Address: How sedate is the future of pediatric healthcare?Reviewed by Pradip Kamat, MD
Presented by James D. Fortenberry, MD, MCCM Dr. Fortenberry the pediatrician-in-chief was the keynote speaker at the Society for Pediatric Sedation (SPS) Conference 2018 in Atlanta. Dr. Fortenberry’s keynote addressed the following issues in healthcare: The Healthcare Reform Landscape Reimbursement-Medicaid Behavioral Health T … [Read More...]
Defending Your Sedation Program’s Value to the InstitutionReviewed by Trish Scherrer, MD
Presented by Lia Lowrie, MD Dr. Lia Lowrie presented the second plenary session on Monday morning, entitled “Defending your sedation program’s value to the institution.” She began the presentation by reviewing the up-front relative value that different programs and service lines have to a pediatric medical center. Two services in particular, … [Read More...]
Mobile Service vs Procedural Sedation UnitReviewed by Sue Kost, MD
Presented by Lowell Clark, MD Every organization needs a Lowell Clark. His vast experience and wisdom, not to mention his wonderfully dry sense of humor, provide a unique frame through which his audience can view the big picture of acute care pediatrics. Dr. Clark was charged with providing a 30-min talk on the topic of “Mobile Service vs. P … [Read More...]
Aligning Pediatric Anesthesia and Procedural Sedation Service LinesReviewed by Amber Rogers, MD
Presented by Trish Scherrer, MD In what appeared to be a channeling of Dr. Anne Stormorken, who was unfortunately unable to attend the SPS conference, Dr. Trish Scherrer seamlessly presented a discussion of the benefits of aligning sedation and anesthesia services. Viewing the sedation/anesthesia processes from the perspective of the IOM Six … [Read More...]
Dental Sedation: Who, what, where and when?By John Unkel, MD, MPA, DDS
Pediatric dental sedation has a unique set of challenges: child demeanor, delivery of surgical intervention in a highly innervated area and oropharyngeal and environmental considerations. Children are initially evaluated by the pediatric dentist and those determined to have anxiety or fears are often scheduled for sedation. Procedures in the o … [Read More...]
High Risk Procedures: Are There Things We Shouldn’t Do?Reviewed by Nancy Crego, PhD, RN, CCRN
Presented by Melissa Patel, MD; Benjamin Jackson, MD; and James Hertzog, MD This presentation was divided into three sections focusing on three types of factors: Patient, Procedure, and Provider. Each presenter highlighted one of the factors. Patient factors – Dr. Patel started by reviewing definitions of adverse events and t … [Read More...]
Pre-screening: Holy Grail vs. practical realityReviewed by Michelle Rhoads, MSN, APRN, BC
Presented by Jocelyn Grunwell, MD Critical to developing a highly successful pediatric sedation service is providing not only safe and effective care but to do so in an efficient manner as well. Dr. Jocelyn Grunwell, a pediatric critical care physician, led a provocative discussion on the Development of a Pediatric Assessment Tool for MRI. … [Read More...]
Summaries of Oral AbstractsBy Elise Van der Jagt, MD
Summarized below are the four research abstracts that were selected for oral presentation. Louer R, McKinney RC, Zee-Cheng JE et.al. Adjunctive lidocaine for painful procedure in pediatric oncology patients; is it more than just local anesthetic. Retrospective analysis of 436 patients who underwent propofol-ketamine sedation for bone marrow … [Read More...]
Sedation Center of Excellence – How Does This Affect Your PracticeReviewed by Elise W. van der Jagt, MD, MPH
Presented by Cheri Landers, MD and Trish Scherrer, MD This was an excellent two part presentation - the first providing information on the development of the new Society for Pediatric Sedation Center of Excellence designation and the application process, and the second describing the results of a survey of SPS member institutions (53) … [Read More...]
Sedation Outcomes: Definitions and assessment toolsReviewed by Ben Jackson, MD
Presented by Mark Roback, MD Attendees at the 2018 SPS Annual Conference were treated to an insightful plenary session considering meaningful outcomes in procedural sedation entitled “Sedation Outcomes: Definitions and Assessment Tools” presented by Mark Roback, MD, Co-Director of the Division of Emergency Medicine at University of Minnesota Mas … [Read More...]
Global Health ChallengesReviewed by Mary Landrigan-Ossar, MD
Presented by Philip Landrigan, MD Despite an opening slam at the city of Cleveland (Sorry, Drs. Stormorken and Johnson!), keynote speaker Dr. Philip Landrigan gave a well received talk on the worldwide impact of pollution on children’s health. Pollution, which can come from household sources, the air, soil, water, or occupational toxins, is e … [Read More...]
Team DynamicsReviewed by Lia Lowrie, MD
Presented by Girish Deshpande, MD and Corrie Chumpitazi, MD Girish Deshpande, MD, a pediatric intensivist, and Corrie Chumpitazi, MD, a pediatric emergency physician, presented an engaging post-prandial lecture about the importance of teamwork as it relates to healthcare, and specifically, pediatric procedural sedation. Specific principles of … [Read More...]
Surgery and Procedures in Low Resource SettingsReviewed by Lia Lowrie, MD
Dr. Ann Marie Beddoe, MD, MPH provided a highly informative and quite sobering look at the difficulties faced in providing needed basic surgical services in low and ultra-low resource settings. She described the extreme disparities in basic surgical and anesthetic services in some African countries. The death rate from surgery and anesthesia … [Read More...]
Creating a Sedation Service Business PlanReviewed by Trish Scherrer, MD
Presented by David Banks, MD Dr. David Banks presented a superb plenary session reviewing the elements and importance of developing a sedation service business plan. Dr. Banks began by reviewing the advantages of having a business plan for your service, including providing an organized approach that participants and stakeholders can utilize … [Read More...]
Regulatory Readiness: Stuff to deal with before you can start to sedateReviewed by Cheri Landers, MD
Presented by Jeff Linzer Sr., MD, FAAP, FACEP Dr. Jeff Linzer simplified the complex healthcare regulatory environment. First, which agencies have oversight of healthcare, hospitals and healthcare providers? State agencies including nursing and pharmacy boards, Medicaid, and hospital licensing. Organizations such as the Joint Commission ov … [Read More...]
Literature Review
Neuropsychological and Behavioral Outcomes after Exposure of Young Children to Procedures Requiring General Anesthesia: The Mayo Anesthesia Safety in Kids (MASK) StudyBy Dan Tsze, MD
Warner DO, Zaccariello MJ, Katusic SK, Schroeder DR, Hanson AC, Schulte PJ, Buenvenida SL, Gleich SJ, Wilder RT, Sprung J, Hu D, Voigt RG, Paule MG, Chelonis JJ, Flick RP. Anesthesiology. 2018 Apr 19 [Epub ahead of print] There is a concern that drugs producing sedation or general anesthesia can cause neuroapoptosis and long-term deficits in … [Read More...]