Administering anesthesia to children poses unique challenges, as their anatomy varies significantly even among patients of the same age. Misjudging the correct breathing tube size or failing to detect oxygen drops early can lead to serious complications, while assessing postoperative pain remains difficult when children cannot communicate effectively. Now, a systematic review has found that artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance safety in pediatric anesthesia by improving accuracy, monitoring, and pain assessment.

The review presented by Central Michigan University College of Medicine (Saginaw, MI, USA) at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2025 annual meeting evaluated the performance of AI systems in pediatric surgical care. The researchers analyzed data from 10 studies comparing AI-driven systems to standard anesthesia methods. The AI tools were designed to continuously analyze thousands of data points in real time, identifying subtle physiological changes and predicting potential complications before they become critical.

The studies showed that AI outperformed traditional methods across several anesthesia-related tasks. For oxygen monitoring, AI models trained on more than 13,000 surgeries detected oxygen drops up to 60 seconds before standard alarms, giving anesthesiologists valuable time to intervene. In breathing tube placement, machine-learning models analyzed 37,000 pediatric cases and reduced errors by 40−50% compared with current formulas based on age or height.

AI also showed remarkable potential in postoperative pain management, achieving 95% accuracy by recognizing facial expressions and physical behaviors from over 1,000 pain assessments in toddlers. These findings demonstrate how AI could transform perioperative care by providing personalized, data-driven support to anesthesiologists. While the tools are still in the research stage, their consistent accuracy and predictive power suggest they may soon become integral to operating room safety systems.

“AI can continuously analyze thousands of data points in real time and learn patterns from past cases, spotting subtle changes sooner and helping tailor decisions to each child’s unique anatomy,” said Aditya Shah, B.S., lead author of the study and a medical student at Central Michigan University College of Medicine, Saginaw. “It doesn’t replace the anesthesiologist’s expertise—it simply adds another layer of safety and support.”

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