Paediatric emergencies.

The care of sick children can be challenging for the anaesthetist who is only involved in the occasional care of paediatric patients. This paper outlines the care of medical and surgical paediatric emergencies for which an anaesthetist working at a district general hospital or equivalent may encounter. Conditions discussed include paediatric respiratory emergencies, sepsis, status epilepticus, the acute abdomen in the newborn, intussusception, the bleeding tonsil, trauma and the child with burns.