Kids who come in for surgery are often very anxious. I see this regularly in my role as a nurse practitioner in the Department of Anesthesia.
When kids are anxious before surgery, it is more likely that they will wake up confused or agitated and with more pain. They may also experience things like night terrors, separation anxiety and bedwetting after they go home.
Why Do Kids Worry?
There are many reasons a child may be anxious in this setting including being at the hospital, the procedure they’re having done, or being separated from their caregiver. Young children often fall asleep for surgery by breathing air through a mask, which can feel really scary.
Cincinnati Children’s has many ways to help kids with surgery anxiety become comfortable with an anesthesia mask. One of the newer tools we use is a video game I invented. It’s called EZ Induction, and it’s controlled by breathing through an anesthesia mask.
How Does EZ Induction Work?
The app is on a tablet that connects to the anesthesia mask. There is a breathing sensor in the back of the tablet case. With the anesthesia mask on, a child will breathe in and out to control the game. They help game characters travel on a journey through the zoo while completing fun challenges like blowing up balloons and swimming underwater. Calm breathing can help kids feel more relaxed and help them engage in the process.
Who Can Use EZ Induction?
Kids ages 10 and under will benefit most from the game since anesthesia is most commonly given through a mask to kids those ages.
EZ Induction is available at both Cincinnati Children’s Burnet (main) Campus and Liberty Campus for procedures done in the operating room.
It is also used in Radiology and Medical Imaging and Dentistry and Orthodontics for kids getting general anesthesia.
Any patient or family can request the game. Just mention it to anyone on your child’s care team. For parents, it can help you encourage and reassure your child as they learn about the process of falling asleep—and help you feel more comfortable with the process too.
The next time your young child has a procedure or exam under anesthesia, we invite you to give EZ Induction a try. We’ve already heard of kids who ask their parents after surgery if they can go back to the hospital to play the game again!
Editor Note: Cincinnati Children’s was the first medical center in the United States to pilot EZ Induction. It has since been licensed to LittleSeed Inc., which plans to make the game available to kids in more hospitals across the country.
Thank you Abby for inventing EZ Induction. Thousands of children are benefiting from your caring invention.