BACKGROUND: Selective posterior rhizotomy (SPR) is a preferred procedure for relieving spastic children with cerebral palsy, but it is associated with severe pain and significant emergence agitation (EA). The thoracolumbar interfascial plane (TLIP) block provides an effective blockade to the dorsal branch of the spinal nerve. We hypothesise that the TLIP block may be an effective tool to alleviate EA and postoperative pain scores in children with cerebral palsy undergoing SPR.
METHODS: This study is a single-centre, randomised, parallel-controlled trial being conducted in Beijing, China. A total of 50 paediatric patients with cerebral palsy scheduled for SPR are randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive bilateral TLIP block with 0.2% ropivacaine 0.5 mL/kg or control. Patients in the TLIP group receive general anaesthesia combined with TLIP block, while patients in the control group receive only general anaesthesia, without a TLIP block. The primary outcome is the Paediatric Anaesthesia Emergence Delirium Score. The secondary outcomes are the incidence of EA, the Wong-Baker Faces Pain-rating Scale, the perioperative haemodynamics, the intraoperative remifentanil and propofol dosage, the extubation time and recovery time, and adverse reactions.
BACKGROUND: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine on 21 September 2023 (2023DZMEC-379-02). Written informed consent is obtained from the legal guardian of each patient. The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed international journals.
BACKGROUND: ChiCTR2300076397.

BACKGROUND: Laryngospasm is sustained closure of the airways and can be a life-threatening condition. Magnesium sulphate is postulated to reduce the incidence of laryngospasm if administered peri-operatively. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of magnesium sulphate in preventing peri-operative laryngospasm in paediatric patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.
METHODS: Four databases and a trial registry were searched. Inclusion criteria were paediatric patients undergoing general anaesthesia. Exclusion criteria were patients who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass during surgery. The intervention of interest was the peri-operative administration of magnesium sulphate. The intervention was compared to either a placebo or other pharmacological agent. The primary outcome was the incidence of laryngospasm. A meta-analysis of all studies was performed. Sub-group analysis was subsequently performed.
RESULTS: A total of 953 patients from 13 trials were included in this study. Nine RCTs administered magnesium intravenously and 4 RCTs administered magnesium locally. Laryngospasm rates were 6% lower in the magnesium group (OR 0.48 [95% CI 0.25-0.96], p = 0.04) compared to control in the pooled data. Subgroup analysis showed laryngospasm rates were lower by 12.5% (Odds Ratio 0.26 [CI 0.09-0.76], p = 0.01) in the local magnesium group. Subgroup analysis of studies that only administered intravenous magnesium did not show a statistically significant difference in the incidence of laryngospasm (OR 0.73 [95% CI 0.33-1.63], p = 0.44).
CONCLUSIONS: This review shows a potential role for magnesium in the prevention of laryngospasm in paediatric patients undergoing general anaesthesia. There is a correlation between local administration of magnesium and reduction in laryngospasm rates. Further studies are required to assess the efficacy of intravenous magnesium in prevention of laryngospasm.
BACKGROUND: Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO); PROSPERO ID CRD42022307868 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022307868).

BACKGROUND: Motor-evoked potentials (MEP) are widely used to mitigate the risk of nerve injury resulting from surgical manipulation. Infants are more susceptible to anaesthetics that suppress MEP because of the immaturity of their nervous structures. Current evidence of the impact of the interaction between a small dose of sevoflurane and propofol-based total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) on MEP in infants is controversial. This current study aims to evaluate the impact of the coadministration of low-dose sevoflurane with propofol-based TIVA on MEP in infants.
METHODS: A randomised controlled study will be conducted at a single tertiary care children\'s hospital in Japan between July 2024 and June 2029. Children between 35 and 87 weeks of postconceptual age undergoing spinal surgery requiring MEP under general anaesthesia will be enrolled in this study. The participants will be randomly allocated into two groups: propofol+remifentanil with (intervention group) or without (control group) low-dose sevoflurane (0.10-0.15 age-adjusted minimum alveolar concentration). MEP top-to-bottom amplitudes will be measured at two chronological points: T1 (first transcranial MEP (TcMEP) recording), T2 (second TcMEP recording) in the same patient. The primary and secondary endpoints will be a reduction in MEP amplitudes (T1-T2) in the right upper and lower extremities between the control and intervention groups, respectively. The sample size was calculated to be a total of 40 based on the preliminary data of 10 infants, which showed a 35% reduction in mean values of MEP amplitudes in the right adductor muscle (SD=31) with a 10% assumed dropout rate.
BACKGROUND: The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Aichi Children\'s Health and Medical Center (2022058). The results will be reported in a peer-reviewed journal at the relevant academic conference.
BACKGROUND: jRCT1041230094.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative anaphylaxis is a serious and often life-threatening immediate hypersensitivity reaction. There are few published data on paediatric perioperative anaphylaxis (pPOA). We evaluated the incidence of and risk factors involved in the occurrence of pPOA within a large US national database.
METHODS: Deidentified data from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2005 to 2014 were used to identify pPOA cases and to conduct a retrospective multivariate analysis of preselected independent variables.
RESULTS: Among 3,601,180 surgeries and procedures in children aged 0-18 yr, 297 pPOA cases were identified for an incidence of one in 12,125 surgeries and procedures. Compared with controls, pPOA cases had an increased median length of stay (6 vs 2 days; P<0.001) and median hospital cost ($54 719 vs $5109; P<0.0001). The age groups between 6 and 12 yr (odds ratio [OR] 7.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.9-12.9; P<0.001) and 13 and 17 yr (OR 8.5; 95% CI 4.7-15.2; P<0.001) were associated with increased odds of pPOA. Transplant (OR 46.3; 95% CI 20.8-102.9; P<0.001), cardiac (OR 16.4; 95% CI 7.5-35.9; P<0.001), and vascular (OR 15.2; 95% CI 7.5-30.7; P<0.001) procedures posed the highest risk for pPOA. Chronic pulmonary disease, coagulopathy, and fluid and electrolyte disorders were also associated with pPOA (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.5-3.3; P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of pPOA was one in 12,125 cases. Risk factors included age, procedure type, and comorbidities.

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Dexmedetomidine is increasingly used in paediatric anaesthesia practice. In this issue of the British Journal of Anaesthesia, a retrospective hospital registry study in anaesthetised children showed that intraoperative use of dexmedetomidine was dose-dependently associated with a longer postanaesthesia care unit length of stay. Dexmedetomidine administration was also associated with higher total hospital costs and higher odds of unwarranted haemodynamic effects, while the onset of emergence delirium was not reduced. Although these results could curb enthusiasm for paediatric use of dexmedetomidine, they might also trigger discussion about our approach in the postoperative period to children having received dexmedetomidine intraoperatively.

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Having epidural analgesia in labour has been associated with a later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in the offspring, resulting in concerns about childhood wellbeing. Neurodevelopmental changes are inconsistently reported in the literature, creating challenges in the interpretation of these findings. Here we explore the limitations of the current evidence base, and why findings differ between studies, concluding that the current body of evidence does not support a causal association between use of epidural analgesia in labour and autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical studies suggest that early exposure to anaesthesia alters the visual system in mice and non-human primates. We investigated whether exposure to general anaesthesia leads to visual attention processing changes in children, which could potentially impact essential life skills, including learning.
METHODS: This was a post hoc analysis of data from the APprentissages EXécutifs et cerveau chez les enfants d\'âge scolaire (APEX) cohort study. A total of 24 healthy 9-10-yr-old children who were or were not exposed to general anaesthesia (for surgery) by a mean age of 3.8 (2.6) yr performed a visual attention task to evaluate ability to process either local details or general global visual information. Whether children were distracted by visual interference during global and local information processing was also assessed.
RESULTS: Participants included in the analyses (n=12 participants exposed to general anaesthesia and n=12 controls) successfully completed (>90% of correct answers) the trial tasks. Children from both groups were equally distracted by visual interference. However, children who had been exposed to general anaesthesia were more attracted to global visual information than were control children (P=0.03).
CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest lasting effects of early-life exposure to general anaesthesia on visuospatial abilities. Further investigations of the mechanisms by which general anaesthesia could have delayed effects on how children perceive their visual environment are needed.