Factors associated with administration route when using midazolam for pediatric conscious sedation

Midazolam conscious sedation records of pediatric dental patients, one to six years of age, were reviewed retrospectively to: 1) examine the factors associated with the use of oral and nasal routes of administration and their effect on displayed behavior during dental treatment and 2) determine whether a child's compliance with oral administration is predictive of the intraoperative behavior displayed during dental treatment. Two hundred and fifty-seven conscious sedation records for 222 pediatric dental patients sedated with orally or nasally administered midazolam for dental treatment at the University of Florida were reviewed. Data collected included the patient's age, gender, route of administration, dose, compliance with oral administration, appointment type (planned vs. emergency), previous sedation experience with midazolam, operator vs. parent administration of the medication, use of papoose board and nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation, types of procedures performed (restorations only, extractions only, or both), length of treatment rendered, and preoperative and intraoperative behavioral assessments of the child. The collected data were analyzed with Statview software using ANOVA and Chi-square analyses. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between oral and nasal administration for the parameters of age, procedure length, appointment type, procedures performed, previous sedation experience and use of the papoose board and nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation. While there was no statistically significant influence of chronological age on the preoperative Frankl behavior ratings, there was a statistically significant mean age difference with respect to the administrator of the medication (parent vs. operator), papoose board use, N2O/O2 use and previous sedation experience. Forty-five percent of the subjects were willing to accept oral administration of the medication, however, there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.114) between the child's compliance to accept the medication and the intraoperative Frankl behavioral ratings displayed during dental treatment. In this review of midazolam conscious sedation records of pediatric dental patients. 1) route of administration was significantly influenced by several patient and procedural variables, resulting in different behavioral outcomes and 2) compliance with oral administration was not predictive of behavior displayed during treatment.