Introduction. The authors discuss their first experience of applying the inert gas xenon (Xe) for relieving a persistent pain syndrome (PPS) and acute stress disorders (ASD) in children with severe injuries.Material and methods. Seven children with severe trauma were taken into the trial: the five with severe combined trauma after a terroristic attack (Kerch, 2018) and the two with multiple dog bites. All victims had PPS and ASD after the survived fear of death. Xenon had 15–30 % concentration in oxygen . Xe-therapy lasted for 15–20 minutes.Results. During Xe-sessions, patients were sedated. BIS-index decreased from 95.5 ± 2.5 to 86.5 ± 5.0 U (p < 0.05); mean values by Ramsay scale decreased from 5.5 ± 0.5 to 2.7 ± 1.2 scores (p < 0.05). Pain intensity by Numeric Rating Scale for Pain decreased from 4.1 ± 1.8 to 1.1 ± 0.4 scores (p < 0.05). Five sessions were needed for controlling PPS and refusing of analgesics; 12 session for phantom pains; 3 sessions for sleeplessness; 5 sessions for erasing tragic events from the memory.Conclusion. 15–30 % Xe inhalations were effective in controlling PPS and ASD in children with severe injuries.

Introduction. The authors present their experience in experimental and clinical studies on the application of Xenon (Xe) in subnarcotic concentrations for pain relief and for the treatment of acute stress disorders. Preparing wounds for plastic closure in children is a long and painful process which requires many anesthesia procedures during dressings. It leads to cognitive disorders, affects memory and learning potentials. Every third child who survived a severe trauma suffers of acute stress disorders: bad sleep, emotional imbalance, anxiety, asociality, inappropriate actions. Xenon is a non-toxic anesthetic. In the concentration of 20–50%, it is not only anesthetizes, but also decreases acute stress disorders, has sedative and anti-stress effects and normalizes sleep.Objectives. To study literature data on the potentials of gas Xe in subnarcotic concentrations for pain relief and for decreasing acute stress disorders at the stage of preparing a child for plastic closure of a wound defect.Material and methods. Literature search was done in PubMed, Scopus, eLIBRARY, Cyberleninka in English and Russian using key words: “Xenon”, “Xenon and anesthesia”, “Xenontherapy” “Actions of Xenon”, “Treatment of extensive wounds in children”, “Acute stress disorders”.Results. The analysis of the data of the conducted studies showed the non-toxicity of Xe, which makes it possible to use it repeatedly for anesthesia in children. The fact that Xe reduces the manifestations of anxiety, depressive and psychosomatic symptoms in patients with acute and chronic stress disorders allows us to count on its positive effects in the treatment of children with extensive wounds of traumatic origin at the stage of preparing them for plastic closure.Conclusion. The practical absence in the available scientific literature of a study to assess the effectiveness of the use of subnarcotic concentrations of Xe, when dressing extensive wounds at the stage of preparation of the wound process for plastic closure in children with acute stress disorders, justifies the conduct of an appropriate scientific study.