There is little or no risk of death related to anesthesia in healthy children, according to a study conducted at Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and published in the June 2011 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia.
The researchers analyzed 101,885 anesthesia procedures in 56,000 children undergoing surgery at Children's Hospital from 2003-2008. The study identified deaths within 24 hours and 30 days after anesthesia, and a panel of anesthesiologists judged whether each death was related to anesthesia.
The overall rate of death from any case within 24 hours was 13.4 per 10,000 anesthesia procedures; the rate of death within 30 days was 34.5 per 10,000 procedures. Ten deaths were considered to be related to anesthesia, but all the children who died had heart disease or other serious medical conditions. Five of the 10 deaths occurred in children with pulmonary hypertension, or abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs.
The study suggested that the risk of anesthesia-related death in healthy children should be very low.
Read the release on the study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.
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The researchers analyzed 101,885 anesthesia procedures in 56,000 children undergoing surgery at Children's Hospital from 2003-2008. The study identified deaths within 24 hours and 30 days after anesthesia, and a panel of anesthesiologists judged whether each death was related to anesthesia.
The overall rate of death from any case within 24 hours was 13.4 per 10,000 anesthesia procedures; the rate of death within 30 days was 34.5 per 10,000 procedures. Ten deaths were considered to be related to anesthesia, but all the children who died had heart disease or other serious medical conditions. Five of the 10 deaths occurred in children with pulmonary hypertension, or abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs.
The study suggested that the risk of anesthesia-related death in healthy children should be very low.
Read the release on the study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
Anesthetic Exposure in Young Children Could Increase Risk of ADHD
Anesthesia & Analgesia Debuts Mobile and CME Sites
Effect of Self-Citations on Anesthesia Journals Impact Factor Declines