• Rachel Gooden, Ingrid Tennant, Brian James, Richard Augier, Annette Crawford-Sykes, Kelvin Ehikhametalor, Georgiana Gordon-Strachan, and Hyacinth Harding-Goldson.
• Bustamante Hospital for Children, South East Regional Health Authority, Kingston, Jamaica; Departamento de Cirurgia, Radiologia, Anestesia e Tratamento Intensivo, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
• Rev Bras Anestesiol. 2014 Nov 1;64(6):413-8.

Background And ObjectivesEmergence delirium is a distressing complication of the use of sevoflurane for general anesthesia. This study sought to determine the incidence of emergence delirium and risk factors in patients at a specialist pediatric hospital in Kingston, Jamaica.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional, observational study including pediatric patients aged 3-10 years, ASA I and II, undergoing general anesthesia with sevoflurane for elective day-case procedures. Data collected included patients' level of anxiety pre-operatively using the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, surgery performed, anesthetic duration and analgesics administered. Postoperatively, patients were assessed for emergence delirium, defined as agitation with non-purposeful movement, restlessness or thrashing; inconsolability and unresponsiveness to nursing and/or parental presence. The need for pharmacological treatment and post-operative complications related to emergence delirium episodes were also noted.Results145 children were included, with emergence delirium occurring in 28 (19.3%). Emergence delirium episodes had a mean duration of 6.9±7.8min, required pharmacologic intervention in 19 (67.8%) children and were associated with a prolonged recovery time (49.4±11.9 versus 29.7±10.8min for non-agitated children; p<0.001). Factors positively associated with emergence delirium included younger age (p=0.01, OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-8.6) and moderate and severe anxiety prior to induction (p<0.001, OR 5.6, 95% CI 2.3-13.0). Complications of emergence delirium included intravenous line removal (n=1), and surgical site bleeding (n=3).ConclusionChildren of younger age with greater preoperative anxiety are at increased risk of developing emergence delirium following general anesthesia with sevoflurane. The overall incidence of emergence delirium was 19%.Copyright © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

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