The researchers, led by anesthetist Andrew Davidson, MD, cited studies on five-day-old monkeys that were given ketamine, a commonly-used hospital anesthetic. The drug caused some of the monkeys’ brain cells to die, and when they were assessed at two and three years of age, the monkeys had significant learning deficits.
The studies also showed that propofol, midazolam, isoflurane, desflurane and sevoflurane caused rats’ brain cells to die and affected their ability to complete simple tasks. Dr. Davidson said studies were underway to examine whether the same results occurred in human infants. He said there was no proof of the same problem in humans yet, but physicians are considering using ketamine less often on children and reconsidering minor surgical procedures in babies because of the anesthetic risk.
Read the Sydney Morning Herald report on anesthesia in babies.
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