Abstract

Introduction: Obesity in children is becoming from year to year enormous medical and socio-epidemilogical problem according to increasing number of overweight and obese children. Overweight and obesity in children mostly affects on cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine system disturbances. Adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy belong to group of most often done operation in children population. Anesthesiology complications during adenodecotomy and adenotonsillectomy in children are known as very disturbing and dramatic. Methods: Retrospective-prospective study includes 162 children, both genders, 3 to 12 years old, who are hospitalized and operated (adenoidectomies and adenotonsillectomies) on Otorihinolaryngolic clinic of University clinical centre Tuzla in the four year period. Purpose of the study is to show the influence of overweight in children on appearance of anesthesiology complications such as difficult intubation, bronchospasm and laryngospasm. Body mass index (BMI), which is used as universal measure, is adapted with gender specific scales of National statistic centre of United States of America. All children with BMI over 25 are referred as overweight and those over 30 as obese. These children categories were compared to those with normal BMI according to anesthesiology complications incidence. Results: Overweight in operated children is noticed in 21%, and 11% of children was obese and there wasn’t distinction between boys and girls. Anesthesiology complications are evaluated in 12 of them (7.4%). Total analyzed sample show significant connection and influence of overweight with appearance of anesthesiology complications. Separate comparison for two types of operations is indicating that during adenoidectomies there hasn’t been noticed connection between overweight and anestehesiological complications, while in case of adenotonsillectomies direct and significant correlation is proven. Conclusions: According to increased risk of anesthesiology complications in overweight and obese children during adenodectomies and adenotonsillectomies it is important for anesthesiologists to do much serious preoperative evaluation of obese children, and to be more prepared for every of possible unwished supersize during perioperative period.

Key words: children, overweight, obesity, adenoidectomy, anesthesiology complications.