Effect of Obesity on the Recovery Profile After General Anesthesia in Children: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background: Obesity has become a serious problem not only in adult patients but also in pediatric patients. Aim: To evaluate whether obesity affects the recovery profile after general anesthesia in children. Participants: 40 children (aged 2–12 years) who underwent surgery under general anesthesia and had an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical I and II. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted over a period of 3 months (January–April, 2021). The patients were divided into two groups according to body mass index (BMI): Group I comprised obese children (BMI ≥95th for age percentile) (n=20) and Group II comprised children with a normal BMI (25–75th for-age percentile) (n=20). Anesthesia induction and maintenance were performed as per standard guidelines in both the groups. Outcome: The recovery profile was evaluated with the following parameters: time to spontaneous ventilation, laryngeal mask airway removal time, time to open eyes, and post-anesthesia care unit discharge time. Results: When the recovery profiles were compared, no significant differences were found between the groups. Time to spontaneous ventilation [mean difference (95% CI); 0.66 (0.09–1.42); P=0.085], laryngeal mask airway removal time [MD (95% CI); 1.12 (0.06–2.22); P=0.057), time to open eyes [MD (95% CI) 0.66 (0.40–1.74); P=0.217], and post-anesthesia care unit discharge time [MD (95% CI) 3.60 (0.59–7.25); P=0.054] were higher in Group II; however, these differences lacked both statistical and clinical significance. Conclusion: The results suggest that obesity has no effect on the recovery profile after general anesthesia in children in our setting.