Anesthetic-related neurotoxicity in the young and outcome measures: The Devil is in the details

摘要

THERE are few issues facing the field that are more concerning and contentious than the possible neurotoxic effects of anesthetics on children. Although laboratory studies report that virtually all commonly used anesthetics invariably induce neu-rodegeneration in the developing animal brain, observational studies are less conclusive with some reporting an association between exposure to anesthesia/surgery and adverse neurobehavioral outcome, whereas others do not.