Publications

INTRODUCTION : Anaesthetizing children for surgery can be challenging due to parental separation anxiety and
an unfamiliar OT environment. Various drugs have been tried for pre- medication to alleviate this anxiety and
facilitate induction of anesthesia. We compared Intranasal Dexmedetomidine and Intranasal midazolam for premedication in children
undergoing short surgical procedures.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 104, ASA grade I and II children between 2-10 years, scheduled for elective short surgical procedures were
randomly allocated to receive intranasal Dexmedetomidine (1μg/kg) (Group D) or intranasal Midazolam (0.2mg/kg) (Group M) . The
Parental Separation Anxiety Score, MOAA/S scores ,Mask Acceptance Score and 24 hr vitals were assessed
RESULTS: The parental separation and MOAA/S scores attained with intranasal Dexmedetomidine premedication were found to be
superior to intranasal Midazolam (p<0.0001). The mask acceptance was better among children premedicated with intranasal
Dexmedetomidine than with Midazolam . There was a statistically signicant decline in the heart rate in the group D compared to group M
after premedication
CONCLUSION: Children premedicated with intranasal Dexmedetomidine separated much more easily from parents with a better degree of
sedation and better mask acceptance compared to those premedicated with intranasal Midazolam.