Postanesthetic Emergence Agitation in Pediatric Patients under General Anesthesia

authors:

avatar Soheila Shahmohammadi 1 , * , avatar Masoumeh Mohkamkar 2 , avatar Fatemeh Farhoudi 3 , avatar Alireza Alam-Sahebpour 4 , avatar Seyed-Abdullah Mousavi 5 , avatar Soghra Khani 6

Iranian Journal of Pediatrics: Vol.24, issue 2; 184-190
published online: February 15, 2014
article type: Research Article
received: April 24, 2013
accepted: January 22, 2014

how to cite: Shahmohammadi S, Mohkamkar M, Farhoudi F, Alam-Sahebpour A, Mousavi S, et al. Postanesthetic Emergence Agitation in Pediatric Patients under General Anesthesia. Iran J Pediatr. 2014;24(2): 184-190. 

Abstract

Objective: Postanesthetic emergence agitation is a common problem in pediatric postanesthetic care unit with an incidence ranging from 10 to 80%. This study was done to determine the prevalence of emergence agitation and associated risk factors in pediatric patients who underwent general anesthesia. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study was performed on 747 pediatric patients aged 3- 7 years that underwent general anesthesia for various elective surgeries at Bou-Ali Sina Hospital in Sari, Iran between January 2010 and January 2011. A non-probability quota sampling technique was used. The presence of emergence agitation was recorded using Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale. The factors linked with Emergence Agitation were recorded in a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS software 16 and independent sample t-test, χ2 and binary logistic regression. P-values less than 0.05 were considered as significant. Findings: One hundred thirty-four (17.9%) children had emergence agitation. The most frequent surgical procedures were ENT surgical procedures 315 (42.2%), abdominal surgery 177 (23.7%), orthopedic surgery 137 (18.3%), urology 97 (13%) and ophthalmic surgery 24 (3.2%). Otorhinolaryngological surgical procedures (P=0.001), pain (P<0.05) and induction behavior of children (P<0.005) were associated with higher rates of post anesthetic emergence agitation (P=0.001). Conclusion: This study identified the multiple independent risk factors which are associated with emergence agitation in children. To minimize the incidence of postanesthetic emergence agitation, these risk factors should be considered in the routine care by care providers in postanesthetic care unit.
 

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