Sedation for pediatric patients undergoing CT and MRI

J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1992 Jan-Feb;16(1):3-6. doi: 10.1097/00004728-199201000-00002.

Abstract

Adequate sedation remains one of the most important parts of performing high quality cross-sectional imaging in children. This is a noncomparative retrospective analysis of existing sedation protocols used in 1,158 children between the ages of 1 day and 18 years, checking for safety and efficacy. The most commonly used drugs were chloral hydrate (60-120 mg/kg) by mouth for infants less than 18 months and intravenous Nembutal (2-6 mg/kg) for older children. Sedation was successful in 97% of patients.

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Chloral Hydrate / administration & dosage
  • Chloral Hydrate / adverse effects
  • Conscious Sedation* / adverse effects
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Injections, Intravenous
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
  • Pentobarbital / administration & dosage
  • Pentobarbital / adverse effects
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*

Substances

  • Chloral Hydrate
  • Pentobarbital