ReviewCureus2025
Neurodevelopmental Effects of General Anaesthesia on the Developing Brain: A Structured Review of the Current Literature.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Concerns have emerged regarding the potential neurodevelopmental effects of general anaesthesia (GA) administered during early childhood. Recent research has investigated the long-term cognitive complications that may arise in children following the administration of GA. Preclinical studies suggest that anaesthetic agents may induce neuroapoptosis and disrupt neurogenesis in developing brains. This review evaluated current literature to determine whether GA exposure in children is associated with long-term cognitive or behavioural impairments. A structured literature review was conducted using the PubMed database. The inclusion criteria focused on original research assessing neurodevelopmental outcomes for children following GA exposure. Retrospective cohort studies and prospective trials were analysed, while meta-analyses and systematic reviews were excluded. The retrospective cohort studies suggest that multiple or prolonged exposure to GA in childhood may be associated with increased risk of learning difficulties, behavioural disorders, and reduced academic performance. By contrast, the prospective studies, such as the general anaesthesia or awake-regional anaesthesia in infancy (GAS) trial, Paediatric Anaesthesia and Neurodevelopment Assessment (PANDA), and Mayo Anaesthesia Safety in Kids (MASK) trials, found no significant neurodevelopmental deficits following a single short-duration exposure. The MASK study did, however, note that potential behavioural risks were associated with repeated exposure. Variability in the design of the studies, the outcome measures, and confounding factors limited direct comparison across the studies. The current evidence does not support a definitive link between single GA exposure and long-term neurodevelopmental harm in children but does suggest that repeated or prolonged exposure may increase the risk of harm. Further high-quality research is required to clarify these associations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.