Analysis of electroencephalogram-derived indexes for anesthetic depth monitoring in pediatric patients with intellectual disability undergoing dental surgery

BACKGROUND: Patients with intellectual disability (ID) often require general anesthesia during oral procedures. Anesthetic depth monitoring in these patients can be difficult due to their already altered mental state prior to anesthesia. In this study, the utility of electroencephalographic indexes to reflect anesthetic depth was evaluated in pediatric patients with ID. METHODS: Seventeen patients (mean age, 9.6 ± 2.9 years) scheduled for dental procedures were enrolled in this study. After anesthesia induction with propofol or sevoflurane, a bilateral sensor was placed on the patient's forehead and the bispectral index (BIS) was recorded. Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane, which was adjusted according to the clinical signs by an anesthesiologist blinded to the BIS value. The index performance was accessed by correlation (with the end-tidal sevoflurane [EtSevo] concentration) and prediction probability (with a clinical scale of anesthesia). The asymmetry of the electroencephalogram between the left and right sides was also analyzed. RESULTS: The BIS had good correlation and prediction probabilities (above 0.5) in the majority of patients; however, BIS was not correlated with EtSevo or the clinical scale of anesthesia in patients with Lennox-Gastaut, West syndrome, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. BIS showed better correlations than SEF95 and TP. No significant differences were observed between the left- and right-side indexes. CONCLUSION: BIS may be able to reflect sevoflurane anesthetic depth in patients with some types of ID; however, more research is required to better define the neurological conditions and/or degrees of disability that may allow anesthesiologists to use the BIS.