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Updated: Jan 26, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Using a checklist to assess if a child undergoing MRI needs general anaesthesia
M Y Sum1, Y Z Ong2, S X K Low1
1Department of Diagnostic & Interventional Imaging, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, 229899, Singapore.
Insights
A new checklist effectively predicts the need for general anesthesia (GA) in children undergoing MRI scans. This tool, administered by non-medical staff, shows good accuracy in identifying children requiring GA for MRI procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Imaging
- Medical Assessment Tools
- Anesthesiology
Background:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) often requires general anesthesia (GA) for pediatric patients to ensure cooperation.
- Predicting the need for GA in children undergoing MRI is crucial for optimizing patient care and resource allocation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a child-assessment checklist in determining the requirement for general anesthesia (GA) during pediatric MRI examinations.
- To assess the diagnostic accuracy and inter-rater reliability of the checklist.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 798 children undergoing MRI, assessed pre-examination using a five-item behavioral checklist.
- Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with GA requirement.
- The checklist's performance was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC).
Main Results:
- Children requiring GA were significantly younger and scored higher on the checklist in both the overall sample and a subset of younger children (p<0.001).
- The checklist demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy (AUC=0.97) with a suggested cut-off score of 4.
- High inter-rater reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient = 0.78) was observed.
Conclusions:
- The child assessment checklist is a valuable tool for identifying children who require general anesthesia for MRI.
- The checklist can be reliably administered by non-medical personnel, facilitating its practical application.
Aim:
To assess if a child-assessment checklist covering tasks children are expected to perform during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can determine whether the child requires general anaesthesia (GA) during MRI.
Materials And Methods:
In this institute review board approved study, children who underwent MRI from September 2016 to June 2017 at KK Women's and Children's Hospital were assessed using a checklist by a research assistant before their examination. During this project, the checklist had no influence on whether the MRI was performed under GA or not. The checklist consisted of five items rated on a binary scale assessing the child's behaviour. Binary logistic regression was performed separately on the overall sample and for a subset of younger children to identify variables associated with the requirement for GA.
Results:
The mean age of the overall sample (798 children) and the subset of children <8 years (124 children) were 11.7±3.7 and 5.5±1.3 years, respectively. In both groups, children who required GA were significantly younger than those who did not (p<0.001). No gender differences were observed. Children who required GA scored higher on the checklist compared to those who did not in both groups (p<0.001). The diagnostic accuracy of the checklist was found to be good (area under the curve [AUC]=0.97 for both groups), with a suggested cut-off score of 4. Intraclass correlation coefficient of the ratings by two independent individuals was 0.78.
Conclusion:
The child assessment checklist was useful in identifying GA requirement in children undergoing MRI and can be administered by non-medical staff with good inter-rater reliability.
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