JAMA pediatrics
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Observational Study
Influence of Surgical Procedures and General Anesthesia on Child Development Before Primary School Entry Among Matched Sibling Pairs.
Substantial preclinical evidence suggests that the developing brain is susceptible to injury from anesthetic drugs. Findings from clinical studies of the neurotoxic effects of anesthesia are mixed, but these effects can be influenced by unmeasured confounding from biological and environmental risk and protective factors on child development. ⋯ In this provincial cohort study, children who had surgical procedures that require general anesthesia before primary school entry were not found to be at increased risk of adverse child development outcomes compared with their biological siblings who did not have surgery. These findings further support that anesthesia exposure in early childhood is not associated with detectable adverse child development outcomes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation vs Placebo on Developmental Outcomes of Toddlers Born Preterm: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Intake of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) among toddlers is low. Supplementation may benefit developmental outcomes of toddlers who were born preterm. ⋯ Daily supplementation with 200 mg of DHA and 200 mg of AA for 6 months resulted in no improvement in cognitive development and early measures of executive function vs placebo, and may have resulted in negative effects on language development and effortful control in certain subgroups of children. These findings do not support DHA supplementation in the second year of life for children who are born preterm.