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Use of a Piglet Model for the Study of Anesthetic-induced Developmental Neurotoxicity (AIDN): A Translational Neuroscience Approach
Published on: June 11, 2017
Pediatric anesthesia and neurodevelopmental impairments: a Bayesian meta-analysis
Charles DiMaggio1, Lena S Sun, Caleb Ing
1Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. cjd11@columbia.edu
Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
|October 19, 2012
Summary
Anesthesia and surgery may slightly increase the risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in young children. However, current evidence on anesthesia neurotoxicity in pediatric patients remains uncertain.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
- Neurodevelopmental Toxicology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Concerns exist regarding long-term effects of volatile anesthetic agents on children's neurodevelopment.
- Previous observational studies on anesthesia/surgery and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children yielded inconsistent results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize existing epidemiologic evidence on the association between anesthesia/surgery and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.
- To provide updated synthesized estimates of risk using Bayesian meta-analytic methods.
Main Methods:
- A meta-analysis was conducted using Bayesian approaches.
- Data were abstracted from seven studies, including both unadjusted and adjusted measures of association.
- Odds ratios (OR) and 95% credible intervals (CrI) were estimated.
Main Results:
- The synthesized OR for anesthesia/surgery association with adverse outcomes (unadjusted) was 1.9 (95% CrI, 1.2-3.0).
- The synthesized OR for anesthesia/surgery association with adverse outcomes (adjusted) was 1.4 (95% CrI, 0.9-2.2).
- Future studies are predicted to have a most likely OR of 2.2 (unadjusted) and 1.5 (adjusted).
Conclusions:
- Epidemiologic evidence suggests a modestly elevated risk of adverse behavioral or developmental outcomes in children exposed to anesthesia/surgery in early childhood.
- The current body of evidence regarding anesthesia's impact on pediatric neurodevelopment is characterized by considerable uncertainty.
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