Report: more study needed on anesthesia impact on children

Dr. Beverley Orser, Professor of Anesthesia and Physiology at University of Toronto, is part of a team of experts calling for clinical trials to examine the impact of anesthesia on children.

Researchers have raised the concern, but there’s been no causality shown, only a loose correlation based on animal studies, says Dr. Orser, also an anesthesiologist at Sunnybrook.

“What we need to do now is undertake the clinical studies to get better answers whether these drugs have a neurotoxic effect and that’s what this perspective article is about, it’s calling for that clinical study. The goal here is to see if there is any concern so that we can put this answer to rest.”

For more information, including guidance for parents on how to interpret this report, please watch the video below.

The SmartTots and the FDA consensus statement was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.