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Is There Evidence for Long-Term Neurocognitive Effects of Sedatives?

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Pediatric Sedation Outside of the Operating Room

Abstract

The potential neurotoxic effects of drugs used for anesthesia and sedation have captured the attention of pediatric care providers. As early as in 1953, personality changes have been documented in children receiving anesthetic and sedative drugs. Despite this early observation, the utilization of anesthetics and sedatives to facilitate painful and distressing procedures on infants and children has become the standard of care. However, the irrefutable laboratory reports documenting the neurotoxic effect of anesthetic and sedative drugs on the developing brain have sparked public awareness to this potential side effect. Given the public health implications of this phenomenon, this chapter will discuss relevance of these issues in the context of the management of sedation in pediatric patients undergoing diagnostic and painful procedures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Sulpicio G. Soriano M.D.

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Intensive Care, University Hospital of Geneva, 4, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland

    Laszlo Vutskits M.D., Ph.D.

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  1. Sulpicio G. Soriano M.D.
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Correspondence to Sulpicio G. Soriano M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Keira P. Mason

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Soriano, S.G., Vutskits, L. (2015). Is There Evidence for Long-Term Neurocognitive Effects of Sedatives?. In: Mason, K. (eds) Pediatric Sedation Outside of the Operating Room. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1390-9_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1390-9_27

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