Essentials of Anesthesia for Infants and Neonates

It is estimated that 1.5 million infants undergo surgery and anesthesia in the USA each year. However, there are serious concerns within the pediatric anesthesia community regarding the safety of anaesthesia in infants and children. There is mounting evidence from animal studies that anesthetics in common clinical use are neurotoxic to the developing brain and cause long-term neurobehavioral abnormalities. Essentials of Anesthesia for Infants and Neonates provides a comprehensive guide to the special needs of infants undergoing anesthesia. It focuses on the first year of life, the time when anesthesia mortality and morbidity is highest. Chapters are illustrated in color throughout, and include sections on newborn physiology for anesthetic management, specific procedures, pain management, and topics such as regional anesthesia and sedation. Written by nationally recognized experts, this book will become an invaluable point of reference for any physician interested in pain management in the first year of life.

Mary Ellen McCann is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and a Senior Associate in Pediatric Anesthesia at Boston Children's Hospital. She did her pediatric and anesthesia training at Massachusetts General Hospital and completed her M.P.H, at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005. She served on the board for the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, and is a Principal Investigator for the GAS trial along with Andrew Davidson of Australia. The focus of her research is the safety of general anesthesia and sedatives with regard to neurodevelopmental outcomes of human infants and toddlers.

Christine Greco is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and a Senior Associate in Pediatric Anesthesia at Boston Children's Hospital. She completed her pediatric training at Ohio State University and anesthesia training at the University of California, San Francisco. She is clinical director of the pain service at Boston Children's Hospital where she created the first accredited fellowship training program in pediatric pain medicine.

Kai Matthes practices pediatric anesthesia in Wailuku, Hawaii. Having obtained his medical degree and Ph.D. from the University of Erlangen in Germany, anesthesiology residencies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School led to the positions of attending anesthesiologist and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr Matthes has a broad research background in the field of anesthesiology, gastrointestinal endoscopy and minimally invasive surgery.