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Pediatric Physiology: How Does it Differ from Adults?

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Abstract

Safe sedation of pediatric patients requires a thorough understanding of the physiological differences between infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Especially in small infants, there is much less margin for any errors in diagnosis and treatment of respiratory or cardiovascular depression during sedation procedures. This chapter will review developmental aspects of respiratory, cardiovascular, central nervous system, renal, hepatic, hematologic, and temperature homeostatic systems, highlighting the differences between children and adults and emphasizing their relevance to sedation procedures in children.

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Correspondence to Dean B. Andropoulos MD, MCHM .

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Andropoulos, D.B. (2012). Pediatric Physiology: How Does it Differ from Adults?. In: Mason, K. (eds) Pediatric Sedation Outside of the Operating Room. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09714-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09714-5_7

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