Mood Change After General Anesthesia in Children

Most drugs used in general anesthesia work on various receptors in the human brain, causing unconsciousness, loss of memory, and loss of reflection of the autonomic nervous system. After the anesthesia, baseline physiological function will be attained by administration of some reversal drugs or as the time goes by. In this process, various side effects may occur. Emergence delirium (ED) is a representative behavioral disturbance after general anesthesia in children and that can cause several problems during the recovery period. Previous studies found that ED and postoperative behavioral problems might be connected. Preschoolers are the most vulnerable group in developing ED after general anesthesia, however, it is difficult to evaluate the psychiatric problems at this age. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 1.5-5 is an internationally well-known standardized tool for assessment of developmental psychopathology, consisted of 99 problem items. Items are categorized as following syndrome scales: Emotionally reactive, Anxious/Depressed, Somatic complaints, Withdrawn, Attention problems, Aggressive behavior, and sleep problems. In this study, the investigators would observe the behavioral and emotional changes of the child using the CBCL 1.5-5 between before and after the general anesthesia.