Fluid choice during perioperative care in children: A survey of present-day proposing practice by anesthesiologists in a tertiary care hospital

BACKGROUND: Perioperative fluid therapy in pediatrics has always been a challenging avenue for anesthesiologists. Inappropriate choice of fluid leads to multiple side effects, for instance iatrogenic hyponatremia. Our aim was to observe the current practice of perioperative fluid therapy in pediatric population undergoing surgery in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: After obtaining approval from the Departmental Research Review Committee, a survey form including questions was emailed to anesthesiologists from January 2015 to June 2015. Individual responses were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Overall response was 100% from consultant and resident, and total 55 anesthesiologists were participated in this survey. Majority of anesthesiologist have used, 1/2 dextrose saline (52.7%) as fluid of choice in routine intraoperative maintenance, while Hartmann's solution (41.8%) and normal saline 0.9% (5.5%) were used for rest of the them. The Holliday-Segar method for maintenance fluid was mentioned by 92.7% of anesthesiologists. CONCLUSION: The use of hypotonic fluid in perioperative care in pediatric population is still being practiced despite the current guidelines. These results point to a considerable gap between the available evidence and practice.