Clinical trial finds several outcomes improved for young children when an anesthesiologist observed their brain waves to guide dosing of sevoflurane during surgery.
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Newlypublishedresultsofarandomized,controlledclinicaltrialinJapanamongmorethan170childrenaged1to6whounderwentsurgeryshowthatbyusingelectroencephalogram(EEG)readingsofbrainwavestomonitorunconsciousness,ananesthesiologistcansignificantlyreducetheamountoftheanesthesiaadministeredtosafelyinduceandsustaineachpatient’sanesthetizedstate.Onaverage,thelittlepatientsexperiencedsignificantimprovementsinseveralpost-operativeoutcomes,includingquickerrecoveryandreducedincidenceofdelirium.
“Ithinkthemaintakeawayisthatinkids,usingtheEEG,wecanreducetheamountofanesthesiawegivethemandmaintainthesamelevelofunconsciousness,”saysstudyco-authorEmeryN.Brown,theEdwardHoodTaplinProfessorofMedicalEngineeringandComputationalNeuroscienceatMIT,ananesthesiologistatMassachusettsGeneralHospital,andaprofessoratHarvardMedicalSchool.ThestudyappearedApril21inJAMAPediatr
