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Review
. 2019 Sep;63(9):698-706.
doi: 10.4103/ija.IJA_487_19.

Pharmacology related to paediatric anaesthesia

Meghna Maheshwari  1 , Sadhana Sanwatsarkar  1 , Milind Katakwar  1
Affiliations
Review

Pharmacology related to paediatric anaesthesia

Meghna Maheshwari et al. Indian J Anaesth. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

A child is not a mini adult. They differ from adults in terms of weight, shape, anatomical size and major body systems such as cardiovascular and respiratory as well as psychologically. Each organ system is immature in paediatric age group and their growth and development can dramatically affect the pharmacokinetics of different drugs. Children differ in every way from an adult thus mandating to have a basic knowledge of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles in paediatric population to prevent under dosing or toxicity of drugs. This review article aims to simplify the basic principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in paediatric population. It also highlights physiological and pharmacological differences between adults and paediatric age. We performed a PUBMED search for English language articles using keywords including pharmacology, child, paediatric anaesthesia. We also hand searched references from relevant review articles and text book chapters. We have also discussed drug interaction in anaesthesia, pharmacology pertaining to neuromuscular junction and effects of anaesthesia over the developing brain.

Keywords: Anaesthesia and developing brain; neuromuscular junction pharmacology; paediatric anaesthesia; paediatric pharmacokinetics; paediatric pharmacology.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

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