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Pediatric Emergence Delirium In The Postoperative Setting, Jennifer Miranda Snell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emergence delirium (ED), also known as emergence agitation, is a postoperative condition characterized by aberrant cognitive and psychomotor behaviors following general anesthesia. The incidence of ED is 3 to 8 times higher in children 5 years of age or less. There is no standard of nursing practice for managing ED symptoms in the pediatric surgical population. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to address a gap in knowledge needed to inform clinical decision-making when managing ED in the postoperative setting. Using an educational presentation for post anesthesia care unit (PACU) nurses, this project introduced the use of non-pharmacological …