Acupuncture for the Prevention of Emergence Delirium in Children Undergoing Myringotomy Tube Placement

Study Summary

Myringotomy tube placement is one of the most commonly performed operations in children. Emergence delirium after such procedures is common. During emergence delirium children can become both a danger to themselves and others around them, including family members and hospital staff. The primary objective of this study is to determine if acupuncture, when used in combination with standard anesthetic management, decreases the incidence of emergence delirium in pediatric patients following myringotomy tube placement. Patients with and without premedication of midazolam will be included. A secondary objective of this study is to determine our institution's actual incidence of emergence delirium for this operation using a validated scale, the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) scale. We will also compare rates of emergence delirium in patients that received a premedication of midazolam versus (V) those that did not (NV). This is a randomized double-blinded trial. We will enroll 100 children aged 1-6 years old. Premedication with midazolam will be decided by the anesthesiologist. If needed, the patient will receive a standard does of oral midazolam plus acetaminophen (V). If the patient does not require premedication with midazolam, oral acetaminophen will be given alone (NV). Patients will then be randomized to receive either acupuncture with standard general anesthesia care (A) or to receive standard anesthetic care alone (S). Patients, their family members and recovery registered nurses (RNs) will not know if acupuncture was performed. Intraoperative anesthetic techniques will be standardized and include inhaled inductions with nitrous oxide and sevoflurane. Anesthesia maintenance will be inhaled sevoflurane and the usual pain medication ketorolac will be given intramuscularly prior to emergence. Acupuncture needles will be placed after anesthesia induction and removed prior to leaving the operating room. A total of 4 needles will be placed, one in each

Primary Outcome

The start of awakening will be indicated by the time point of first observed, sustained eye opening. In the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and Day Stay units, an observer will evaluate the patient at four time points: time of awakening, 5 minutes after awakening, 10 minutes after awakening and 15 minutes after awakening. The observer will use the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) evaluation tool evaluate each child for emergence delirium.

Interventions

• OTHER Acupuncture