Safety measures before sending a child with a cold into surgery

Anaesthetising a child, as seen in this filepic, who has an upper respiratory tract infection, runs the risk of adverse respiratory side effects.

An upper respiratory tract infection, also known as a cold, is a common health problem in childhood. Almost 95% of infections are caused by viruses. There are over 200 viruses, and almost one-third of colds are caused by rhinoviruses.

Symptoms include coughing, sore throat, nasal discharge, congestion (runny nose), sneezing and fever. This can be an issue when an infected child requires surgery, be it elective like circumcision or herniotomy, or emergency like for cancer and accidents.