Incidence and features of emergence delirium in children after general anesthesia in the Middle East population

Abstract

Background & Objective: Emergence delirium (ED) is a known complication characterized by altered mental state that occurs after general anesthesia, which might lead to involuntary agitation in the children. We did this prospective cross-sectional study to find the incidence of emergence delirium after general anesthesia in children at a tertiary care hospital. This study was conducted at Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Methodology: We included 96 children, aged 2-12 y, who underwent general anesthesia for surgery. Emergence agitation was scored by using a standardized scoring system named Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) score at the time of extubation and at every 15 min until discharge from PACU. We report the incidence of emergence delirium as numbers and percentages.

Results: A total of 96 children were included in the study. The median PAED score of children was 8 (5-12). The incidence of postoperative ED in pediatric patients was 38.5% (37 cases). The incidence of emergence delirium was higher in younger children with median age 56 (45-70.5) months as compared to children who were 63 (35-80) months old.

Conclusion: We found an incidence of 38.5% emergence delirium after general anesthesia in children at our hospital.

Abbreviations: ED - Emergence delirium; GA - General anesthesia; PAED - Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium; PACU - Post-anesthesia Care Unit

Keywords: Emergence Delirium, PAED Score, General Anesthesia, PACU

Citation: Huda AU, Arif A, Asim Z. Incidence and features of emergence delirium in children after general anesthesia in the Middle East population. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2024;28(2):310−314; DOI: 10.35975/apic.v28i2.2439

Received: September 13, 2023; Revised: February 04, 2024; Accepted: February 21, 2024