Vanessa Anne Olbrecht, MD

Anesthesiology

Primary Office

Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware 1600 Rockland Road Wilmington, DE 19803 Appointment: (800) 416-4441

Other Offices

Get to Know Me

I am the chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware and a professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics. I serve on the Board of Directors for the Society for Pediatric Sedation (SPS) as well as on the Executive Committee and am the chair of the Quality and Safety Committee. In addition to clinical work and education, I am dedicated to decreasing pain and opioid exposure in children undergoing surgery through the use of innovative, nonpharmacologic interventions. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, including my husband and 5-year-old daughter, Marcella. I love riding horses and traveling. I am incredibly excited to be back on the East Coast and at such a wonderful organization.

Why I Treat Children

They say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I love taking care of children because of the impact I can have on their health and life, and the sheer joy found only in children. I am honored to have the responsibility for caring for someone else’s child and treating every child as if my own. 

What I'm Passionate About

I am proud to be at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware and to have the opportunity to serve my patients, families and team each day. I am passionate about being innovative in finding new and better ways to care for children and supporting the amazing team with which I work. It is truly a privilege to provide this care to children and to work with such an outstanding group of individuals.

Education & Training

Fellowship

  • Pediatric Anesthesiology - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2012

Internship

  • General Surgery - Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Med School, 2008

Residency

  • Anesthesiology Perioperative Medicine - Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Med School, 2011

Medical/Dental School

  • M.D. - Johns Hopkins University, 2007
  • MBA - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2015

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Anesthesiology

Research Activities

I began my current research in the use of biofeedback-based virtual reality for pain management in 2018. Since then, I have received over $1.1 million in funding both for my research and device development and I currently hold an R34 from the NIH to develop a clinical trial protocol for the integration of biofeedback-based virtual reality in perioperative pain management. I look forward to the day when VR becomes part of everyday pain management. 

  • Use of Biofeedback-Based Virtual Reality in Pediatric Perioperative and Postoperative Settings: Observational Study; JMIR Perioperative Medicine; (2024).

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  • Use of high‐flow nasal cannula versus other noninvasive ventilation techniques or conventional oxygen therapy for respiratory support following pediatric cardiac surgery: A systematic review and meta‐analysis; Pediatric Anesthesia; (2024).

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  • The need for a true biofeedback-based virtual reality system for achievement of target heart rate variability for children undergoing surgery; Paediatric Anaesthesia; (2024).

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  • Virtual Reality for Pediatric Postoperative Pain Management: Exploring Methods and Efficacy – Narrative Review (Preprint); Unknown Source; (2024).

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  • Beyond mortality: Definitions and benchmarks of outcome standards in paediatric anaesthesiology; Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology; (2023).

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  • Association of Pre-procedural Anxiety with Procedure-Related Pain during Outpatient Pediatric Burn Care: A Pilot Study; Journal of Burn Care and Research; (2023).

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  • Application of behavioral economic strategies to enhance recruitment into a pediatric randomized clinical trial for postoperative pain relief: A randomized clinical trial; Pediatric Anesthesia; (2023).

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  • Clinical experience with the use of inhaled isopropyl alcohol to treat nausea and vomiting: A narrative review; Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia; (2023).

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  • Impact of opioid law on prescriptions and satisfaction of pediatric burn and orthopedic patients: An epidemiologic study; PLOS ONE; (2023).

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  • Acute Cranial Nerve VI Palsy Following Prolonged Prone Positioning in an Adolescent With Neurofibromatosis Type 1: A Rare Complication of Spinal Surgery in the Prone Position; Journal of Medical Cases; (2023).

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  • Dataset used to refine a treatment protocol of a biofeedback-based virtual reality intervention for pain and anxiety in children and adolescents undergoing surgery; Data in Brief; (2023).

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  • Use of Biofeedback-Based Virtual Reality in Pediatric Perioperative and Postoperative Settings: Observational Study (Preprint); Unknown Source; (2023).

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  • Retrospective study comparing outcomes of multimodal epidural and erector spinae catheter pain protocols after pectus surgery; Journal of Pediatric Surgery; (2023).

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  • Feasibility and acceptability of perioperative application of biofeedback-based virtual reality versus active control for pain and anxiety in children and adolescents undergoing surgery: protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial; BMJ Open; (2023).

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  • Feasibility and acceptability of virtual parental presence on induction of anesthesia—A pilot study; Paediatric Anaesthesia; (2023).

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  • Paediatric pain management: From regional to virtual; Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology; (2023).

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  • The Impetus for the Women of Impact in Anesthesiology Project; Anesthesia and Analgesia; (2023).

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  • The role of local inflammation in complications associated with intubation in pediatric patients: A narrative review; Paediatric Anaesthesia; (2023).

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  • Vial-splitting and Repackaging into Aliquot-specific Syringes: A Cost-effective and Waste-decreasing Strategy for Sugammadex; Pediatric Quality and Safety; (2023).

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  • Isoelectric Electroencephalography in Infants and Toddlers during Anesthesia for Surgery: An International Observational Study; Anesthesiology; (2022).

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  • Multimodal continuous ambulatory erector spinae catheter pain protocol for early recovery following Nuss procedure: a retrospective cohort study; Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine; (2022).

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  • Setting a universal standard: Should we benchmark quality outcomes for pediatric anesthesia care?; Pediatric Anesthesia; (2022).

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  • The Burnout Dance of the Forever Pandemic; Anesthesiology; (2022).

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  • MEG pharmacology: Sedation and optimal MEG acquisition; Clinical Neurophysiology; (2022).

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  • Management of General Anesthesia; Litman's Basics of Pediatric Anesthesia, Third Edition; (2022).

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  • Role of sugammadex in the treatment of anaphylaxis due to rocuronium in children: Extrapolation from adult and animal reports; Paediatric Anaesthesia; (2022).

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  • Transient Reductions in Postoperative Pain and Anxiety with the Use of Virtual Reality in Children; Pain Medicine; (2021).

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  • Leveraging Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to Combat Chronic Pain in Youth: Position Paper From the Interdisciplinary Network on Virtual and Augmented Technologies for Pain Management; Journal of Medical Internet Research; (2021).

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  • Guided Relaxation–Based Virtual Reality for Acute Postoperative Pain and Anxiety in a Pediatric Population: Pilot Observational Study; Journal of Medical Internet Research; (2021).

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  • Moving Beyond the Ordinary: Transcending Traditions in Pediatric Anesthesia; Anesthesiology Clinics; (2020).

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  • Transient Reductions in Postoperative Pain and Anxiety using Virtual Reality in Children; Unknown Source; (2020).

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  • Trends in Pediatric Pain: Thinking Beyond Opioids; Anesthesiology Clinics; (2020).

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  • Guided relaxation-based virtual reality versus distraction-based virtual reality or passive control for postoperative pain management in children and adolescents undergoing Nuss repair of pectus excavatum: protocol for a prospective, randomised, controlled trial (FOREVR Peds trial); BMJ Open; (2020).

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  • Leveraging Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to Combat Chronic Pain in Youth: Position Paper From the Interdisciplinary Network on Virtual and Augmented Technologies for Pain Management (Preprint); Unknown Source; (2020).

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  • Guided Relaxation-Based Virtual Reality Transiently Reduces Acute Postoperative Pain and Anxiety in a Pediatric Population; Unknown Source; (2020).

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  • Guided Relaxation–Based Virtual Reality for Acute Postoperative Pain and Anxiety in a Pediatric Population: Pilot Observational Study (Preprint); Unknown Source; (2020).

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  • Guided relaxation-based virtual reality versus distraction-based virtual reality or passive control for postoperative pain management in children and adolescents undergoing Nuss repair of pectus excavatum: protocol for a prospective, randomized, controlled trial (FOREVR Peds trial); Unknown Source; (2020).

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  • Statistical Analysis Plan for “An international multicenter study of isoelectric electroencephalography events in infants and young children during anesthesia for surgery”; Pediatric Anesthesia; (2019).

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  • Joy in Work: a Systems-Based Approach; Current Treatment Options in Pediatrics; (2019).

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  • Characterization of the functional near‐infrared spectroscopy response to nociception in a pediatric population; Pediatric Anesthesia; (2018).

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  • An International, Multicenter, Observational Study of Cerebral Oxygenation during Infant and Neonatal Anesthesia; Anesthesiology; (2018).

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  • Anesthesia for nuss procedures (pectus deformity); Anesthesiology: A Practical Approach; (2018).

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  • Intravenous acetaminophen reduces length of stay via mediation of postoperative opioid consumption after posterior spinal fusion in a pediatric cohort; Clinical Journal of Pain; (2018).

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  • Opioid-Related Adverse Effects in Children Undergoing Surgery: Unequal Burden on Younger Girls with Higher Doses of Opioids; Pain Medicine (United States); (2015).

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  • Risk predictors of opioid-induced critical respiratory events in children: Naloxone use as a quality measure of opioid safety; Pain Medicine (United States); (2014).

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  • Genetics of pain perception,COMT and postoperative pain management in children; Pharmacogenomics; (2014).

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  • OCT1 genetic variants influence the pharmacokinetics of morphine in children; Pharmacogenomics; (2013).

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  • Peripartum subarachnoid hemorrhage: Nationwide data and institutional experience; Anesthesiology; (2012).

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  • Pectus bar repair of pectus excavatum in patients with connective tissue disease; Journal of Pediatric Surgery; (2009).

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  • Lorenz Bar Repair of Pectus Excavatum in the Adult Population: Should it be Done?; Annals of Thoracic Surgery; (2008).

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  • Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: Role of Extrahepatic Biliary Resection; Journal of the American College of Surgeons; (2008).

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  • Upper sternal depression following Lorenz bar repair of pectus excavatum; Pediatric Surgery International; (2008).

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  • Clinical Outcomes of Noninfectious Sternal Dehiscence After Median Sternotomy; Annals of Thoracic Surgery; (2006).

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  • English