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Anesthesia in Early Childhood May Be Linked to ADHD

Posted 2 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Feb. 2 – Children who have more than one surgery with general anesthesia by their second birthday might be at higher risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study suggests. Mayo Clinic researchers looked through medical records of 341 children diagnosed with ADHD before age 19, to find who had undergone a surgical procedure with anesthesia before they were 2. Nearly 18 percent of children exposed twice or more eventually developed ADHD. Children with only one exposure had an ADHD rate of nearly 11 percent, while never-exposed children had a rate of slightly more than 7 percent. The researchers also looked at anesthesia given to mothers during childbirth. "With Cesarean section with a general anesthetic, only a single anesthetic, we didn't find any effect," said study author Dr. Juraj Sprung, a professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic. The study ... Read more

Obese, Asthmatic Kids Need Special Care Under Anesthesia

Posted 19 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 19 – Obese children need special attention when they undergo anesthesia, two new studies suggest. In one study, researchers found that obese children with asthma suffer more complications from anesthesia than normal weight children with asthma. In the other study, researchers found that obese children require less of one type of anesthesia than normal weight kids. If a child is obese, has asthma or both, parents should expect close monitoring, said researcher Dr. Olubukola Nafiu, an assistant professor of pediatric anesthesiology at the University of Michigan. "Children who are obese and asthmatic have a twofold increased risk of developing respiratory problems when they are given anesthesia," Nafiu said. Both studies are scheduled for presentation Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Chicago. To determine if complications were ... Read more

General Anesthesia Does Not Boost Cancer Risk, Study Finds

Posted 3 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Oct. 3 – Among patients given general anesthesia for surgery, the length or depth of sedation was not linked to an increased risk of developing cancer within five years of the operation, Swedish researchers report. "Neither duration of anesthesia nor increased cumulative time with profound sevoflurane anesthesia was associated with an increased risk for new malignant disease within five years after surgery in previously cancer-free patients," study author Maj-Lis Lindholm, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, concluded in a news release from the International Anesthesia Research Society. In conducting the study, researchers looked at data on almost 3,000 cancer-free Swedish surgical patients who were given sevoflurane – one of the most widely used inhaled anesthetics. The news release said other studies have raised the theory that anesthesia might reduce immune responses ... Read more

Could Surgery, Anesthesia While Very Young Hamper Kids' Development?

Posted 3 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Oct. 3 – Children younger than 2 who undergo multiple surgeries requiring general anesthesia may be up to three times more likely than other children to develop speech and language problems as they grow up, a new study suggests. However, experts cautioned that the finding appears to be restricted to very small children who require more than one surgery. "A single exposure to anesthesia in surgery has not been shown to be problem, so parents can be reassured that this is not likely to cause any problems," said study author Dr. Randall Flick, an associate professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "For children who have or will have repeated exposures to anesthesia, it's important that those families have a conversation with the surgeon and anesthesiologist to determine the risks and benefits in a broad context." The new findings are ... Read more

Shortage of Anesthetics Reported

Posted 10 May 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, May 10 – Shortages of anesthetics are rampant across the United States, according to the results of a new survey. The findings revealed that more than 90 percent of 1,373 anesthesiologists polled (including more than 1,350 from the United States) are experiencing a shortage of at least one drug. And, within the last year, 98 percent of the respondents encountered a similar problem, the poll by the American Society of Anesthesiologists found. Among the anesthetics in short supply were: Neostigmine (57 percent) Thiopental (55 percent) Succinylcholine (48 percent) Propofol (40 percent) Glycopyrrolate (17 percent) In most cases, the drug shortages forced anesthesiologists to change the way they cared for their patients. In fact, more than 91 percent of respondents used alternative medications. Meanwhile, roughly 10 percent of anesthesiologists went so far as to postpone or ... Read more

No Long-Term Effects Seen From Anesthesia in Infancy

Posted 29 Apr 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, April 27 – Exposing young children to a brief, single anesthetic does not seem to cause long-term harmful effects on the brain, a finding that should reassure parents, researchers say. Previous studies in young animals have found evidence that anesthetics can cause developmental and behavioral problems, but whether the same is true in young children has been uncertain. In this new study, researchers compared the academic performance of two groups of ninth-grade students in Denmark: 2,689 who had inguinal hernia repair before they were 1 year of age, and 14,575 in the general population. There was no statistically significant difference in academic performance between the two groups, and the majority of students who had hernia repair in infancy showed no signs of neurological impairment, the investigators found. The study is published in the May issue of the journal ... Read more

Obesity Could Raise Risks of General Anesthesia

Posted 30 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, March 30 – Obese patients are twice as likely as non-obese patients to develop serious airway complications while under a general anesthetic, a new study has found. And severely obese patients were four times more likely to develop such problems, according to the report. In the study, researchers analyzed all major airway complications that occurred among patients who received general anesthesia in the United Kingdom in 2008-2009. The focus of the study was on events that led to severe consequences, such as the need for a breathing tube to be inserted in the front of the neck, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, brain damage or death. The study, which was published online March 29 in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, is slated for presentation Wednesday at a meeting of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA). "The report is important for patients and anesthetists ... Read more

Repeated Anesthesia May Hamper Children's Learning Ability

Posted 15 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, March 15 – Brain stem cell loss is the reason why repeated anesthesia causes memory and learning problems in children, Swedish researchers suggest. "Pediatric anesthetists have long suspected that children who are anesthetized repeatedly over the course of a few years may suffer from impaired learning and memory," study author Klas Blomgren said in a news release. The University of Gothenburg team conducted experiments on rats and mice to find out what happens to brain stem cells when they're exposed to strong magnetic fields. The researchers discovered that the magnetic fields had no effect on the rodents, but repeatedly being anesthetized for the magnetic imaging resonance scans did have an impact on brain stem cells. "We found that repeated anesthesia wiped out a large portion of the stem cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is important for memory. The stem ... Read more

Sedation Linked to Longer Stay in ICU

Posted 29 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Jan. 29 – Critically ill patients in intensive care who aren't sedated require fewer days on mechanical ventilation and spend less time in the intensive care unit than those who are sedated, new research suggests. The Danish study included 113 critically ill adult patients expected to need mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours. The patients were randomly assigned to receive no sedation or sedation (20 milligrams per milliliter (mg/mL) propofol for 48 hours, 1 mg/mL midazolam thereafter) with daily interruption until awake. They were followed for 28 days. The 55 patients who were not sedated had more days without ventilation than the 58 patients who were sedated (13.8 days versus 9.6 days, respectively) and spent less time in the intensive care unit (13.1 days versus 22.8 days, respectively). "Findings from our study show that in critically ill patients receiving ... Read more

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Excess Weight Poses Anesthesia Challenge

Posted 20 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 19 – Many health risks of excess weight are well-known, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, to name a few. But an obese patient is also a challenge for an anesthesiologist to care for during surgery. "At least 30 percent of our patients are obese," said Dr. Kumar Belani, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in Minneapolis, who wants to raise awareness about potential complications that they face. Even though a recent report has found obesity rates leveling off in the United States, about 34 percent of U.S. adults are still obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anesthesiologists who care for these patients say they are medically problematic for many reasons, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists has launched a public education campaign. If patients are more aware of ... Read more