The Effect of Paedfusor TCI, Eleveld TCI, and Sevoflurane Anesthesia on Postoperative Awakening Agitation in Pediatric Patients

Postoperative emergence agitation/delirium (POED) is a postoperative complication in pediatric anesthesia and is characterized by perceptual and psychomotor impairment that negatively impacts postoperative recovery. According to the literature, inhalation anesthesia is associated with a higher incidence of ED compared to propofol-based anesthesia. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of two different TCI models, in which the depth of general anesthesia was monitored with BIS monitoring, on reducing the incidence of ED. Both the Paedfusor and Eleveld models describe propofol pharmacokinetics via a three-compartment structure. These pharmacokinetic models are drug infusion models created by taking 600-10,000 blood samples at specific intervals after administering various doses of the drug to real patients and measuring the blood concentrations. They are used to provide a more stable and consistent level of total intravenous anesthesia. Both models have been used for propofol infusion in pediatric anesthesia for many years. Differences exist between them in terms of distribution volume, elimination rate constant between compartments, and induction and maintenance phases depending on the characteristics of the pharmacokinetic model used. These models are already loaded onto perfusion devices in the operating room. Patient data such as height, weight, and gender are entered into the device, the target dose is determined by the clinician, and the device calculates the necessary dose for induction and maintenance according to the pharmacokinetic models. This study was designed as a prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blind (evaluator-blind), three-arm clinical trial comparing the effects of total intravenous anesthesia and inhalation anesthesia, administered with two different target-controlled infusion (TCI) models (Paedfusor and Eleveld), on postoperative awakening agitation in pediatric patients aged 3-10 years with ASA I-II status and scheduled for elective urogenital surgery. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: Paedfusor TCI, Eleveld TCI, or sevoflurane anesthesia. Standard monitoring and anesthesia protocols will be applied to all patients. Emergence delirium will be assessed using the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) scale, and postoperative pain will be evaluated using the FLACC scale. Secondary outcomes include severity of emergence delirium, association between bispectral index (BIS)-derived alpha band power and ED, time to emergence, postoperative nausea and vomiting, duration of BIS suppression, and the need for additional sedation and analgesia. This study aims to provide evidence on the optimal anesthetic approach to reduce emergence delirium in pediatric patients and to explore the neurophysiological correlates of ED using BIS monitoring