Cognition and Brain Structure Following Early Childhood Surgery With Anesthesia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Anesthetics induce widespread cell death, permanent neuronal deletion, and neurocognitive impairment in immature animals, raising substantial concerns about similar effects occurring in young children. Epidemiologic studies have been unable to sufficiently address this concern, in part due to reliance on group-administered achievement tests, inability to assess brain structure, and limited control for confounders.

Methods

We compared healthy participants of a language development study at age 5 to 18 years who had undergone surgery with anesthesia before 4 years of age (n = 53) with unexposed peers (n = 53) who were matched for age, gender, handedness, and socioeconomic status. Neurocognitive assessments included the Oral and Written Language Scales and the Wechsl

SUBMITTER: Backeljauw B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4485006 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature