A clinical trial published Sept. 9 in Anesthesiology found no evidence that brief exposure to inhaled anesthesia harms brain development in infants and young children.
Researchers from Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea studied more than 400 children under age 2 who underwent surgeries lasting less than 90 minutes, according to a study news release shared with Becker’s.
Children who received the anesthetic sevoflurane had similar cognitive and behavioral outcomes at 30 months compared to those given a reduced-dose strategy with additional medications.
The findings appear to provide reassurance to parents and clinicians following a 2017 FDA warning that prolonged or repeated anesthesia exposure in children under 3 could affect brain development.
While researchers emphasize long-term follow-up is still underway, they say the results add to a growing body of evidence that short, one-time anesthesia use is safe, according to the release.
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