How Common Are Sleep Disorders and Problems With Emergence From Anesthesia in Surgical Patients

Emergence delirium (ED), also called emergence agitation or post-anesthetic excitement, is defined as a dissociated state of consciousness, occurring on awakening from general anesthesia, in which children exhibit psychomotor agitation, crying and thrashing and are not consolable for a period of time, usually 5-15 minutes. Emergence delirium is a common problem in pre-school children, with estimates of the incidence ranging from 10-70% of children in this age group. These children are agitated, seemingly unaware of their surroundings, and typically do not respond to parents or caregivers. They are therefore at risk for self-inflicted traumatic injury and complications secondary to disruptions of intravenous lines, surgical incisions, or drains. Children with ED typically require more resources in the postoperative period than children who do not exhibit ED. Predicting the likelihood of ED would allow for better allocation of resources in the post-anesthetic care unit (PACU).

The peak incidence of ED in children occurs in the same age range at which the peak incidence of parasomnias (PS) occurs. The description of parasomnias is strikingly similar to the description of ED; the American Academy of Sleep Medicine defines parasomnias as "undesirable physical events or experiences that occur during entry into sleep, within sleep or during arousals from sleep." Parasomnias can be diagnosed using a sleep questionnaire.

The purpose of this pilot study is to determine the incidence of ED and PS in our population, in order to determine the number of patients necessary to enroll in a larger study to either confirm or reject the hypothesis that ED and PS are correlated.