Obese Paediatric Patient with Difficult IV Access for Appendicectomy
Reading Time
2:00
Clinical Stem
2025.2
You are asked to attend the paediatric emergency department at your tertiary referral centre to assist with IV access in a 9-year-old boy with abdominal pain who the emergency registrar has been unable to cannulate. The child can speak English, but the parents speak no English and require an interpreter.
Observations
HR 122 bpm
BP 105/60 mmHg
RR 26 breaths per min
SpO2 97% on room air
Weight 49 kg
Height 122 cm
BMI 32.9 kg/m2 (>95th centile for age)
Sections covered in this viva
Section 1 – Assessment and management of a distressed, obese child from a non-English-speaking background with difficult IV access in the paediatric emergency departmentSection 2 – Intra-operative management of ventilation and postoperative analgesia in an obese paediatric patient undergoing a laparoscopic appendicectomySection 3 – Assessment and management of postoperative distress and loss of IV access in a paediatric patient