Harvard Principles of Pediatric Anesthesia and Critical Care

Format : videos+ pdfs
Release Year : 2025

 

Course Description

Pediatric anesthesia and critical care involve unique clinical challenges, particularly as advances in medical and surgical care continue to improve the survival of children with complex congenital anomalies and pediatric-specific diseases. As the population of children requiring specialized perioperative and intensive care continues to grow, healthcare professionals need current, evidence-based knowledge and practical skills to manage increasingly complex cases.

The Pediatric Anesthesia and Critical Care Course 2025 provides a comprehensive review of important developments, emerging practices, and contemporary approaches in pediatric anesthesia, critical care, perioperative medicine, pain management, point-of-care ultrasound, pediatric cardiac anesthesia, and patient blood management.

Course Objectives

The course is designed to provide participants with:

• Current knowledge of advances in pediatric anesthesia and critical care.

• Practical approaches to managing complex pediatric surgical and medical conditions.

• Evidence-based strategies for perioperative and intensive care management.

• Updated approaches to pediatric pain and regional anesthesia.

• Practical skills in pediatric point-of-care ultrasound.

• Contemporary strategies for pediatric patient blood management.

• Approaches to airway management, ventilation, neuromonitoring, and hemodynamic assessment.

• Greater awareness of ethical, professional, environmental, and multidisciplinary considerations in pediatric care.

Key Areas Covered

Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesia

This section addresses important considerations in the care of children undergoing cardiac surgery and those with complex cardiovascular conditions.

Topics include:

• 3-D modeling for cardiac surgery

• Williams syndrome and anesthetic considerations

• Perioperative considerations for patients receiving dapagliflozin

• Neuromonitoring in pediatric cardiac anesthesia

• Anesthetic considerations in patients with progeria

Pediatric Pain Management

This section explores contemporary approaches to acute and chronic pain management in children, including specialized considerations for children with complex medical conditions.

Topics include:

• Cancer pain management in pediatric patients

• Pain management for patients with sickle cell disease

• Regional anesthesia in chronic pain patients

• Pediatric interventional pain management

• Multimodal approaches to pediatric pain care

Pediatric Intensive Care

The critical care component focuses on the management of critically ill children and the principles required to optimize respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular, and ethical care.

Topics include:

• Ventilator strategies in premature infants and neonates

• Evolution of pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation

• Ethical responsibilities in complex pediatric cases

• Neuromonitoring and neuroprognostication in children with acute brain injury

• Principles of informed consent in pediatric care

Perioperative Medicine and Non-Operating Room Care

This section examines current approaches to perioperative management and care delivered both inside and outside the operating room.

Topics include:

• Congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair and postoperative ventilation strategies

• Pediatric-specific ASA classifications

• Neurodiversity and gender-diversity considerations in perioperative pediatric care

• Environmental sustainability in anesthesia

• Pediatric difficult intubation: current knowledge and emerging approaches

• Perioperative safety and multidisciplinary care

Pediatric Point-of-Care Ultrasound

The POCUS component provides a practical foundation for incorporating ultrasound into pediatric anesthesia, critical care, and emergency care.

Topics include:

• Ultrasound-guided vascular access

• Ultrasound fundamentals

• Basic cardiac ultrasound views

• Lung ultrasound

• Neuraxial ultrasound

• Airway ultrasound

• Gastric ultrasound

• FAST/FAFF examination

• Pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular assessment

• Assessment of shock and hypotension

• Ultrasound-guided procedural assessment and guidance, including paracentesis, joint procedures, abscess evaluation, and bone assessment

Pediatric Patient Blood Management Masterclass

The interactive Pediatric Patient Blood Management (pPBM) Masterclass focuses on evidence-based approaches to managing bleeding, anemia, transfusion, and coagulation in pediatric patients.

The masterclass covers:

• Current principles and guidelines for pediatric patient blood management

• Identification and management of pediatric anemia

• Strategies for reducing and managing perioperative blood loss

• Benefits and risks of blood transfusion

• Coagulation factors and blood product alternatives

• Massive hemorrhage management

• Point-of-care coagulation testing

• Introduction to viscoelastic testing

• Basic blood banking principles for pediatric anesthesiologists

• Multimodal strategies for managing the bleeding child

Additional Educational Topics

The program also explores broader developments affecting modern pediatric anesthesia and critical care, including:

• Artificial intelligence and its potential role in anesthesia practice

• Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) and multidisciplinary implementation

• Pediatric regional anesthesia

• Pediatric point-of-care ultrasound

• Acupuncture and complementary approaches

• Professional coaching and development

• Safe surgical and anesthesia care for children in low- and middle-income countries

• Emerging challenges in pediatric anesthesia practice

 

Who Should Attend?

This course is intended for healthcare professionals involved in the care of pediatric patients, including:

• Pediatric anesthesiologists

• Anesthesiologists

• Pediatric critical care physicians

• Critical care specialists

• Nurse anesthetists

• Pediatric intensivists

• Perioperative healthcare professionals

• Clinicians involved in pediatric pain management

• Healthcare professionals seeking advanced education in pediatric anesthesia and critical care

Course Mission

The mission of the Pediatric Anesthesia and Critical Care Course 2025 is to provide healthcare professionals with current information, practical strategies, and clinically relevant skills to improve the safety, quality, and outcomes of pediatric patients.

The course addresses pediatric care across the operating room, non-operating room locations, procedural settings, and intensive care unit, with an emphasis on evidence-based practice, multidisciplinary collaboration, practical skills, and the evolving needs of children with complex medical and surgical conditions.

Course Materials

The course includes a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering pediatric cardiac anesthesia, pain management, intensive care, perioperative medicine, regional anesthesia, point-of-care ultrasound, patient blood management, and emerging developments in pediatric anesthesia and critical care.

The educational library includes pre-recorded lectures, clinical presentations, interactive learning materials, and practical educational sessions designed to support ongoing professional learning and clinical practice.