Mary Ellen McCann, Jurgen C de Graaff, Liam Dorris, Nicola Disma, Davinia Withington, Graham Bell, Anneke Grobler, Robyn Stargatt, Rodney W Hunt, Suzette J Sheppard, Jacki Marmor, Gaia Giribaldi, David C Bellinger, Penelope L Hartmann, Pollyanna Hardy, Geoff Frawley, Francesca Izzo, Britta S von Ungern Sternberg, Anne Lynn, Niall Wilton, Martin Mueller, David M Polaner, Anthony R Absalom, Peter Szmuk, Neil Morton, Charles Berde, Sulpicio Soriano, Andrew J Davidson
BACKGROUND: In laboratory animals, exposure to most general anaesthetics leads to neurotoxicity manifested by neuronal cell death and abnormal behaviour and cognition. Some large human cohort studies have shown an association between general anaesthesia at a young age and subsequent neurodevelopmental deficits, but these studies are prone to bias. Others have found no evidence for an association. We aimed to establish whether general anaesthesia in early infancy affects neurodevelopmental outcomes...
February 16, 2019: Lancet