title: Electroencephalography during general anaesthesia differs between term-born and premature-born children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Premature birth is associated with a wide range of complications in later life, including structural and functional neurological abnormalities and altered pain sensitivity. We investigated whether during anaesthesia premature-born children display different patterns of background EEG activity and exhibit increased responses to nociceptive stimuli.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined background EEG and time-locked responses to clinical cannulation in 45 children (mean age (±SD) at study: 4.9(±3.0)years) under sevoflurane monoanaesthesia maintained at a steady-state end-tidal concentration of 2.5%. 15 were born prematurely (mean gestational age at birth: 29.2 ± 3.9 weeks) and 30 were age-matched term-born children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Background levels of alpha and beta power were significantly lower in the premature-born children compared to term-born controls (p=0.048). Clinical cannulation evoked a significant increase in delta activity (p=0.032), which was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.44).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that whilst under anaesthesia premature-born children display different patterns of background brain activity compared to term-born children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As electrophysiological techniques are increasingly used by anaesthetists to gauge anaesthetic depth, differences in background levels of electrophysiological brain activity between premature and term-born children may be relevant when considering titration of anaesthetic dose.
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poorun
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hartley
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Sezgi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goksan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London WC1N 3JH, UK.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Worley
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London WC1N 3JH, UK.
authors.forename: Stewart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cornelissen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berde
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: Tariq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK. Electronic address: rebeccah.slater@paediatrics.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Rebeccah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Slater
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008738:Methyl Ethers / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000077149:Sevoflurane; D047929:Term Birth / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D008738:Methyl Ethers; D000077149:Sevoflurane
keywords: Anaesthesia; EEG; Nociception; Preterm