General anesthesia-related neurotoxicity in the developing brain and current knowledge and practice of physicians at guilan academic hospitals

Abstract

Background: Recent articles about the topic of the anesthetic agents-related neurotoxicity have currently attracted the attention to the issue in the anesthesiology community. However, specialists in other fields should also be aware of this potential risk. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practice of physicians at Guilan academic hospitals regarding general anesthesia-related neurotoxicity. Methods: Firstly, the responsible anesthesia resident explained the purpose of this work to Guilan faculty and residents and if they agreed to participate a questionnaire containing 12 items was filled via a face to face interview. Results: A response rate of 100% was achieved (271 responders from 271 eligible study responders). Also, 89 (33.1%) responders were attending, 180 (66.9%) were residents, 112 (41.6%) were female, and 157 (58.4%) were male. The mean years of experience was 8.8 ± 4.82 (2-28 years). According to the achieved data, the majority of the precipitants did not believe in GA toxicity. Conclusions: This paper revealed that the current curriculum does not sufficiently address the anesthesia-related neurotoxicity problem. Indeed, the need for training and communication with non-anesthesia medical colleagues was highlighted.