First-trimester anesthesia exposure and the risk of central nervous system defects: a population-based case-control study.
OBJECTIVE
Although up to 2% of women undergo surgery during pregnancy, teratogenic effects of general anesthesia have not been adequately studied. Recently, an association between first-trimester operations and central nervous system defects has been described. This issue was explored in a population-based case-control study.


METHODS
Case patients included live-born and stillborn infants with central nervous system defects born to residents of metropolitan Atlanta, Ga, between 1968 and 1980. Control patients included normal babies frequency matched to case patients by race, birth hospital, and period of birth. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for potential confounding factors.


RESULTS
Of 694 mothers of infants with central nervous system defects, 12 reported first-trimester anesthesia exposure; 34 of 2984 control mothers reported such exposure (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.8, 3.3). A striking association was observed between reported anesthesia exposure and hydrocephalus with another major defect (OR = 9.6, 95% CI = 3.8, 24.6). The strongest association was that of anesthesia exposure with hydrocephalus and eye defects (OR = 39.6, 95% CI = 7.5, 209.2).


CONCLUSIONS
An increased risk of hydrocephalus with other defects was found among offspring of mothers with reported first-trimester anesthesia. Further studies are needed to explore the possible teratogenic effects of general anesthesia.
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333.
G C
GC
Sylvester
M J
MJ
Khoury
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Lu
J D
JD
Erickson
D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D000328:Adult; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000002:abnormalities*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016015:Logistic Models; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D012307:Risk Factors