The effect of general anesthesia and strabismus surgery on the intellectual abilities of children: A pilot study

摘要

Purpose: To determine the influence of general anesthesia and strabismus surgery on children's intellectual abilities. Design: Prospective, observational study. Methods: settings: Institutional. patients: Children 5 to 10 years of age receiving general anesthesia with sevoflurane and undergoing strabismus surgery were included. Intellectual abilities were examined before and 4 weeks after surgery using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. Four subtests representing intellectual abilities related to complex cortical function were examined: identification of objects in a partially completed picture, reproduction of a presented design by using rubber triangles, selecting a picture that completes or is similar to another picture, and memory for location of pictures presented on a page. main outcome measures: Preoperative and postoperative age-adjusted scores of the 4 subtests of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. Results: The study group consisted of 21 children who underwent strabismus surgery under general anesthesia (mean duration, 51.3 minutes). The mean preoperative total score of the 4 subtests was 49.4 ± 6.2. The mean postoperative total score adjusted for potential learning effects and testretest reliability was 48.1 ± 7.7. There was no significant postoperative change in the total score (P =.108). However, the triangle test score decreased significantly after operation (P =.019), particularly in patients with decreased stereoacuity after surgery. Conclusions: General anesthesia with sevoflurane and strabismus surgery generally do not affect the intellectual abilities of complex cortical function in children 5 to 10 years of age at 4 weeks after surgery. Cortical functions related to handeye coordination may be affected by transient changes in postoperative stereoacuity.