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The effects of brief sevoflurane‐nitrous oxide anaesthesia upon children's postoperative cognition and behaviour
Author(s) -
Millar K.,
Asbury A. J.,
Bowman A. W.,
Hosey M. T.,
Musiello T.,
Welbury R. R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2006.04662.x
Subject(s) - medicine , anesthesia , psychomotor learning , sevoflurane , crying , amnesia , premedication , nitrous oxide , general anaesthesia , cognition , recall , psychomotor agitation , psychology , psychiatry , cognitive psychology
Summary This study assessed the effects of brief sevoflurane‐nitrous oxide anaesthesia on children's postoperative cognition, behaviour and physical morbidity. Forty‐eight children aged 5–10 years undergoing anaesthesia without premedication for multiple dental extractions, and 48 control children, performed tests of choice reaction time, attention, psychomotor co‐ordination and memory pre‐operatively (baseline), prior to discharge and at 48 h (anaesthesia group only). Physical and psychological morbidity were recorded at 1 week. Mean choice reaction time and psychomotor co‐ordination were significantly impaired postoperatively but had recovered at 48 h. However, measures of performance variability suggested the presence of residual impairment. Profound retrograde amnesia affected postoperative and 48‐h recall of pictorial stimuli presented prior to anaesthesia, but recognition memory was unimpaired. Attention‐seeking, tantrums, crying and nightmares were occurring more frequently in some 8–20% of children 1 week after the procedure.