Minimum alveolar concentration for halothane in children with cerebral palsy and severe mental retardation

Children with cerebral palsy and severe mental retardation who present for operation may require lower concentrations of inhalational anaesthetics than healthy children. The minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) for halothane was measured in 36 children and adolescents, aged 4–18 years, who underwent orthopaedic surgery. The control group consisted of 12 healthy children (group 1). Children with cerebral palsy and severe mental retardation were allocated to one of two groups: those taking chronic anticonvulsant medication (group 2) ( n  = 12) and those who did not take any drugs (group 3) ( n  = 12). The mean (SEM) MAC value for halothane (expressed in volume per cent) was 0.90 (0.02) for healthy children. Children with cerebral palsy had significantly lower MAC values whether they took anticonvulsant drugs or not (0.62 (0.03) and 0.71 (0.10), respectively).