The Measurement of Intraocular Pressure in Normal Children Under General Anesthesia With and Without Nitrous Oxide and Anesthetic Eye Drops

Pediatric glaucoma is a rare but potentially blinding condition where the pressure in the eye is too high. Diagnosis is based on intraocular pressure (IOP) and assessment of the optic nerve, cornea and other structures. Accurate intraocular pressure measurements in young children is often impossible to obtain in an office setting. Children need sedation or general anesthesia to determine IOP. All volatile general anesthetics affect the IOP. Nitrous Oxide, a weak volatile anesthetic, does not affect IOP in healthy adults. Since Nitrous Oxide has shown to be safe and effective in a variety of practice environments, we want to evaluate the use of nitrous oxide in oxygen to obtain IOP measurements in children.