FDA to Assess Effect of Anesthesia on Cognitive Ability of Children

The US Food and Drug Administration will be meeting on Thursday to look into claims that using anesthesia on children could affect their cognitive abilities. The FDA revealed that the decision to constitute a panel to look into the concerns was made after a number of studies, so far conducted on animals, proved that exposure to anesthesia can be responsible for the death of brain cells.

FDA’s director of the division of anesthesia and analgesia products, Dr Bob Rappaport said that the agency will look into the currently available studies and suggest any new studies that should be conducted and also decide on whether to inform parents, whose children are undergoing surgery, about possible cognitive or behavioral risks.

“We don’t know what this means for children at this time. That’s exactly why it’s so critical that we get all of the necessary information. How do we communicate what we do know at this point without causing undue concern in parents and in physicians?”, Dr Rappaport added.




Source-Medindia