Whether it’s the possibility of getting a shot or maybe it’s the loud sounds of an MRI machine taking pictures. For a pediatric patient, there are a lot of reasons to be a little nervous about their checkup. Like most kids, Wyatt Boomgaarden is not a big fan of going to the doctor.
“He knows the turn offs and everything. He’s like, yep, I'm alone in the car with either mom or dad, so... He knows,” laughed Emma Boomgaarden, Wyatt’s mom.
Wyatt has aortic stenosis and has already had three surgeries in his short life. Every six months, he gets an echocardiogram to ensure his heart is pumping like it should, a screening that proved to be a challenge as Wyatt got older.
“It was just a struggle to try to hold him, I mean, it could last like two minutes. They're like as fast as we can get the echo done and to see as much as they could in such a short time. One echo didn't turn out very well, so Dr. Towe, the cardiologist he sees, was very kind of nervous about how it looked. And he actually mentioned a sedated echo,” said Boomgaarden.
“Our service provides the ability to get this imaging, scanning, or other images or procedures done in a way that makes the patient comfortable and relaxed,” said Kingshuk Dasgupta, MD, a pediatric critical care physician at Avera Children’s Hospital.
The sedation service is overseen by the Avera Pediatric Critical Care team and used to be done through an IV. More recently, efforts have made the process even less invasive.
“We do internasal medications most of the time, especially because it's quick on, quick off. Our kiddos seem to do much better with it and has less side effects,” said Tanya Trunkenmiller, PA-C Pediatric Critical Care.
“No IVs needed, the patient falls asleep, we get the scans done and that's it. It's much faster, much simpler, much less invasive,” said Dasgupta.
“They go to sleep, we either take them down to MRI or a majority of them are able to come up to the room. So it actually gets done in the room with the mom or dad at the bedside,” said Trunkenmiller.
That parental involvement is a key aspect of the sedation services. Your doctor may suggest sedation, but the choice is left up to the parents who know their child best. For the Boomgaardens, it's been a game changer.
“As a parent it really helps a lot, especially for younger kids or any kids with disabilities or sensory issues. It's just a lot easier now!” said Boomgaarden.
“Sedation is very helpful because they do get the best picture they could get for the doctor who ordered it to give them the best answer to their issues,” said Trunkenmiller.
In addition to sedation services, Avera Children’s Hospital has non-medical calming services such as special goggles that allow patients to watch movies while getting an MRI done.
