Abstract
Sedation is frequently required in children undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 172 Paediatric patients (82 female and 90 male, age 42±26 months, weight 14.7±5.6 kg) entered an open, non-comparative, prospective study to assess the utilization of oral chloral hydrate. Chloral hydrate syrup (70 mg/ml) was administered 20–30 min prior to the procedure. Effective sedation was reached in 80.3% with an average initial dose of 55 mg/kg and in 93.6% with an average total dose of 65 mg/kg. Significant differences in effectivity were correlated with the dose (54±11 mg/kg in failure cases versus 66±16 mg/kg in effective cases; p <0.05) and diagnosis (effectivity falls to 62.5% and 76.0% in children with medullar tumours and encephalic white matter alterations, respectively; p <0.01). Average sleep induction time was 30±19 min, and average duration of sleep was 62±24 min. Adverse reactions occurred in 4.7%, with nausea, vomiting and stomach pain being the most common side-effects (3.5%). Multivariate statistical analysis selects total dose and age into the discriminant function, with a 100% relative percentage of correct classification. A simple method for optimizing the chloral hydrate dose in children is proposed: the dose in mg/kg is calculated as half the age in months + 50.
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Ronchera, C.L., Martí-Bonmatí, L., Poyatos, C. et al. Administration of oral chloral hydrate to paediatric patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging. Pharmaceutisch Weekblad Scientific Edition 14, 349–352 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01970170
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01970170