Background: Children who experience Emergence Delirium following an anaesthetic are at an increased risk of injury, harm to the surgical site, delayed discharge from the recovery room/ post anaesthetic care unit, an increased length of stay in hospital, the requirement of additional nursing staff to care for them and may display additional emotional and behavioural upsets in the weeks following surgery. Many factors have been postulated to be associated with the development of Emergence Delirium in children. However, to date the strength and nature of these associations has not been thoroughly investigated nor discussed considering the specific implications for contemporary nursing practice.
Aim: The aim of this scoping review is to provide an overview of Emergence Delirium in children, and a critical synthesis of evidence informing development of nursing interventions to prevent or minimise paediatric Emergence Delirium.
Methods: This scoping review was conducted guided by the PRISMA checklist. 14 peer-reviewed studies and guidelines published between 2000 and 2020 on Emergence Delirium in children and nursing practice were included in the deductive thematic analysis stage.
Results: The results found the anxiety of the child, the post-operative phase, continuity of care and medication administration were key themes in the nursing management of Emergence Delirium.
Conclusion: There is opportunity for further research to be conducted on child Emergence Delirium in different hospital systems with further exploration of nurse-led interventions.
Keywords: child; emergence agitation; emergence delirium; nursing; paediatric agitation; paediatric anaesthesia.