Which method of anesthetic administration could induce respiratory depression in an infant?

• A. Local
• B. Epidural
• C. General
• D. Spinal

Answer: (C)

The key idea is how anesthesia can suppress a baby’s breathing. General anesthesia depresses the brainstem’s respiratory drive and often requires airway management with endotracheal intubation. In infants, whose respiratory control is immature and who have high oxygen needs, this can lead to slowed breathing, occasional apnea, and reduced ability to respond to CO2 or airway obstruction. In addition, the muscle relaxation used during general anesthesia and the lingering effects of anesthetic agents can cause hypoventilation or apnea after emergence.

Local anesthesia stays at the site with minimal systemic effects, so it doesn’t typically depress respiration. Epidural anesthesia provides regional numbness with limited systemic impact; it can cause hypotension but not usually respiratory depression. Spinal anesthesia can occasionally affect respiration if a very high block occurs, but under standard practice it’s less likely to cause respiratory depression than full general anesthesia.

So, the method most likely to induce respiratory depression in an infant is general anesthesia due to its widespread CNS and airway effects.