A growing body of research, primarily in animals, has suggested a correlation between anesthesia exposure and learning disabilities or cognitive problems, according to Bob Rappaport, MD, the FDA’s director of the division of anesthesia or analgesia products.
The FDA panel will look at past research on the subject and suggest future approaches to determine whether anesthesia in young children is prohibitively harmful. The FDA will also discuss whether providers should notify parents of the cognitive risks of anesthesia in young children preparing to undergo surgery.
A recent study by the FDA’s National Center for Toxicology Research found that exposing five-day-old rhesus monkeys to 24 hours of anesthesia resulted in decreased performance on memory tests, attention and learning.
Read the New York Times report on anesthesia in children.
Read more on anesthesia and children:
–March FDA Committee Meeting to Discuss Pediatric Anesthesia
–50% of Pediatric Patients Do Not Understand the Risks or Benefits of Anesthesia
