Anesthesia-Related Cardiac Arrest in Children: Update from the Pediatric Perioperative Cardiac Arrest Registry

The initial findings from the Pediatric Perioperative Cardiac Arrest (POCA) Registry (1994-1997) revealed that medication-related causes, often cardiovascular depression from halothane, were the most common. Changes in pediatric anesthesia practice may have altered the causes of cardiac arrest in anesthetized children.

Nearly 80 North American institutions that provide anesthesia for children voluntarily enrolled in the Pediatric Perioperative Cardiac Arrest Registry. A standardized data form for each perioperative cardiac arrest in children