Efficacy of esketamine in alleviating emergence delirium and agitation in pediatric patients undergoing adenotonsillectomy under general anesthesia.

Objective: To analyze the effect of esketamine on emergence delirium (ED) and emergence agitation (EA) in pediatric patients under general anesthesia.

Methods: This retrospective study included 94 pediatric patients who underwent adenotonsillectomy under general anesthesia at General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from January 2023 to October 2024. The patients were divided into three groups according to different anesthesia protocols they received: Group A (n=30, esketamine 0.