British journal of anaesthesia
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Opioid misuse in the paediatric population is understudied. This study aimed to develop a machine learning classifier to differentiate between occasional and sustained opioid users among children and adolescents in outpatient settings. ⋯ Our model showed promising performance in predicting sustained opioid use among paediatric patients. The online risk prediction tool can facilitate compliance to such tools by clinicians. This study presents the potential of machine learning in identifying at-risk paediatric populations for sustained opioid use, potentially contributing to secondary prevention of opioid abuse.
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Preclinical studies suggest that early exposure to anaesthesia alters the visual system in mice and non-human primates. We investigated whether exposure to general anaesthesia leads to visual attention processing changes in children, which could potentially impact essential life skills, including learning. ⋯ These findings suggest lasting effects of early-life exposure to general anaesthesia on visuospatial abilities. Further investigations of the mechanisms by which general anaesthesia could have delayed effects on how children perceive their visual environment are needed.