Laughing gas may help kids forget surgery, study hints
NCT ID NCT02050152
First seen Jun 30, 2026 · Last updated Jul 01, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at whether different amounts of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) can make children forget things that happen just before surgery. Healthy children aged 6 to 12 having elective surgery will breathe either a placebo or one of two concentrations of nitrous oxide. After surgery, researchers will test if they remember a joke, a photo, or a bad smell from when they were awake. The goal is to find out if nitrous oxide can be used to intentionally cause temporary memory loss for medical procedures.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Nitrous oxide
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors understand how to use nitrous oxide to reduce children's memory of unpleasant medical procedures.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study in healthy children, so results may not apply to all patients or situations. The effects on memory may be subtle or vary widely.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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90 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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May 2013
- Finished
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Oct 2013
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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6 to 12 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age: 6-12 years old, 2. ASA classification: 1 and 2 3. Elective surgery Exclusion Criteria: 1. Uncooperative child needs sedation before induction of anesthesia 2. Developmental delay, ADHD, autism, Tourette's syndrome, schizophrenia, congenital and acquired brain disorder, Down syndrome. 3. Those who request for IV induction 4. Those taking sedative medications, anti-seizure medication 5. Those with malignant hyperthermia, muscular dystrophy; those with uncorrected cardiac defects and those with severe or active lung disease 6. Those with elective admissions to PICU with ongoing sedation and tracheal intubation
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo
Buffalo, New York, 14222-2006, United States
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