ABA Pediatric Anesthesiology study guide
ABA Pediatric Anesthesiology · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Pediatric Anesthesiology Exam is one of the subspecialty exams listed by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) among its certification offerings, appearing alongside exams such as Adult Cardiac Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, Pain Medicine, and Sleep Medicine. It is intended for anesthesiologists who have completed primary certification and wish to pursue subspecialty certification in the anesthetic care of infants, children, and adolescents. The ABA Pediatric Anesthesiology study guide has 6 sections and about 1,998 words.
01Pediatric Anesthesia Care and Perioperative Management
Perioperative management of children is organized around age-specific risk: the neonate with immature hepatic and renal clearance, the infant with a large surface-area-to-mass ratio and rapid heat loss, and the older child with separation anxiety and postoperative nausea. Candidates must be able to build a plan that sequences NPO status, premedication, induction technique, monitoring, fluid and glucose strategy, temperature control, and discharge criteria.
374 words, about 2 min02Pediatric Physiology, Pharmacology, and Anesthetic Agents
Age changes every pharmacokinetic parameter. Neonates have higher total body water and lower fat, a larger volume of distribution for water-soluble drugs, lower albumin and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (more free drug), immature CYP enzymes and glomerular filtration, and reduced hepatic blood flow.
356 words, about 2 min03Congenital and Acquired Pediatric Disease: Anesthetic Implications
Anesthetic planning hinges on which organ system is compromised and how it interacts with induction, ventilation, and hemodynamics. Congenital heart disease : know shunt direction and whether pulmonary blood flow depends on ductal patency.
310 words, about 2 min04Pediatric Airway Management and Respiratory Care
The pediatric airway is not a small adult airway. The head is large, the neck short, the tongue large, the larynx cephalad (C1 in neonates to C3–C4 in older children), the epiglottis long and floppy, and the narrowest point is the cricoid ring in young children (versus the glottis in adults).
341 words, about 2 min05Pediatric Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management
Pediatric regional anesthesia is safe and opioid-sparing when dosing is weight-based and anatomy is respected. Common blocks include caudal, ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric, penile, transversus abdominis plane, erector spinae, and upper/lower extremity blocks.
298 words, about 1 min06Pediatric Critical Care, Resuscitation, and Patient Safety
Pediatric resuscitation follows PALS principles: high-quality CPR with a compression-to-ventilation ratio of 15:2 for two rescuers, rate 100–120/min, depth about one-third of chest diameter, and early defibrillation for shockable rhythms. Epinephrine 0.01 mg/kg IV/IO (0.1 mL/kg of 1:10,000) every 3–5 min; amiodarone for refractory VF/pVT.
319 words, about 2 min