Effect of Sedation with Midazolam and Time to Discharge among Pediatric Dental Patients

The aim of this study was to examine the recovery time of children who underwent conscious sedation with oral or rectal midazolam. Study design: The medical files in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of all the children who underwent conscious sedation with midazolam between 3/2013-4/2016 were examined. The total duration of sedation and time to discharge were calculated. Descriptions of the children’s behavior before and during sedation were compared. Results: The files of 120 children were retrieved. They included 64 girls, mean (± standard deviation) age 5.7 ± 2.67 years and 56 boys, mean age 4.9 ±1.06 years. The mean weight for the entire cohort was 18.7 ± 5.2 kg. Eighty-one children (67.5%) received oral sedation and 39 (32.5%) received rectal sedation. The mean total duration of sedation was 105 ± 26 min, and the mean time to discharge after treatment was 55:17 ± 22:30 min. A hundred and seven children exhibited positive behavior before undergoing sedation, but the behavior deteriorated during sedation in 36 cases. Conclusion: The time to discharge post-midazolam sedation correlated to the child’s age and weight and total amount of administered midazolam. Sedation negatively affected behavior in 43.6% of the cases.

sedation, midazolam, time to recovery, behavior

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