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PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA

A Comparison of Three Doses of a Commercially Prepared Oral Midazolam Syrup in Children

Charles J. Coté, MD^*, Ira T. Cohen, MD, Santhanam Suresh, MD^*, Mary Rabb, MD, John B. Rose, MD, B. Craig Weldon, MD^||||, Peter J. Davis, MD^¶, George B. Bikhazi, MD^#, Helen W. Karl, MD^**, Kelly A. Hummer, RN, Raafat S. Hannallah, MD, Ko Chin Khoo, MS, and Patrice Collins, MD

*Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois; Children’s National Medical Center and The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC; Herman Children’s Hospital, Houston, Texas; Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; ||||University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; ¶Children’s Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, #Jackson Memorial Medical Center, Miami, Florida; **Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, Washington; and Roche Laboratories Inc., Nutley, New Jersey

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Charles J. Coté, MD, Department of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Children’s Memorial Hospital, 2300 Children’s Plaza, Chicago, IL 60614. Address e-mail to ccote{at}northwestern.edu

Midazolam is widely used as a preanesthetic medication for children. Prior studies have used extemporaneous formulations to disguise the bitter taste of IV midazolam and to improve patient acceptance, but with unknown bioavailability. In this prospective, randomized, double-blinded study we examined the efficacy, safety, and taste acceptability of three doses (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg, up to a maximum of 20 mg) of commercially prepared Versed^® syrup (midazolam HCl) in children stratified by age (6 mo to <2 yr, 2 to <6 yr, and 6 to <16 yr). All children were ASA class I–III scheduled for elective surgery. Subjects were continuously observed and monitored with pulse oximetry. Ninety-five percent of patients accepted the syrup, and 97% demonstrated satisfactory sedation before induction. There was an apparent relationship between dose and onset of sedation and anxiolysis (P < 0.01). Eight-eight percent had satisfactory anxiety ratings at the time of attempted separation from parents, and 86% had satisfactory anxiety ratings at face mask application. The youngest age group recovered earlier than the two older age groups (P < 0.001). There was no relationship between midazolam dose and duration of postanesthesia care unit stay. Before induction, there were no episodes of desaturation, but there were two episodes of nausea and three episodes of emesis. At the time of induction, during anesthesia, and in the postanesthesia care unit, there were several adverse respiratory events. Oral midazolam syrup is effective for producing sedation and anxiolysis at a dose of 0.25 mg/kg, with minimal effects on respiration and oxygen saturation even when administered at doses as large as 1.0 mg/kg (maximum, 20 mg) as the sole sedating medication to healthy children in a supervised clinical setting.

IMPLICATIONS: Commercially prepared oral midazolam syrup is effective in producing sedation and anxiolysis in doses as small as 0.25 mg/kg; there is a slightly faster onset with increasing the dose to 1.0 mg/kg. At all doses, 97% of patients demonstrated satisfactory sedation, whereas 86% demonstrated satisfactory anxiolysis when the face mask was applied.

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Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999