Sir—We would like to share a simple decision-making tool (the 'COLDS score') for the preanesthetic evaluation of children with upper respiratory tract infection (URI). Because of their increased risk of perioperative airway and respiratory complications (1), these children require a careful evaluation to decide whether or not to proceed with anesthesia. However, this decision process is nonstandardized, debated in the literature, and often based upon unique institutional, patient, surgical, social, and economic factors (2). COLDS is a heuristic, organizational tool whieh helps standardize such decisions and complements currently used algorithms and decision trees (2).
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