THE EFFECT OF PASSIVE SMOKING ON THE INCIDENCE OF AIRWAY COMPLICATIONS IN CHILDREN UNDERGOING GENERAL-ANESTHESIA

The aim of this study was to assess whether passive smoking affected t he frequency of airway complications in children undergoing general an aesthesia. One hundred and twenty-five children undergoing general ana esthesia for elective daycase surgery were monitored for adverse respi ratory events and desaturation during induction, intra-operatively and in the recovery room. Oxygen saturation was monitored throughout and a venous sample was taken for estimation of carboxyhaemoglobin levels. Parents were asked to fill in a questionnaire detailing their smoking habits. Sixty-three of the children were passive smokers with a poten tial daily exposure varying from 5-130 cigarettes. There was no differ ence in the frequency of respiratory events between passive smokers an d those not exposed to cigarette smoke at induction or intra-operative ly. However, in the recovery room, desaturation was significantly more common in passive smokers (p < 0.02). This was related to the cumulat ive number of cigarettes smoked by individuals to whom the child was e xposed (p < 0.05). Neither carboxyhaemoglobin levels nor domiciliary a ddress were predictive of desaturation. This study suggests that passi ve smoking contributed to postoperative arterial oxygen desaturation f ollowing general anaesthesia in children.