Clonidine in paediatrics - a review
Sujatha Basker1, Georgene Singh, Rebecca Jacob
1Asst. Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. 632004.
Insights
Clonidine, an alpha-2 agonist, offers sedative and analgesic benefits, making it increasingly popular in pediatric anesthesia and intensive care for various applications. Careful monitoring is essential for its safe use in children.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Pediatric Medicine
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Clonidine is an established antihypertensive medication.
- Alpha-2 agonists possess sedative and analgesic properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the expanding role of clonidine in pediatric anesthesia.
- To highlight clonidine's utility in pediatric intensive care.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on clonidine's applications in pediatric anesthesia.
- Analysis of clinical data regarding clonidine's efficacy and safety.
Main Results:
- Clonidine is utilized for premedication in children.
- It serves as an adjunct in regional and general anesthesia.
- Applications extend to pediatric intensive care for sedation and analgesia.
Conclusions:
- Clonidine demonstrates versatile applications in pediatric anesthesia and intensive care.
- Its sedative, analgesic, and hemodynamic stabilizing effects are valuable.
- Vigilant monitoring is crucial for safe anesthetic drug administration.
Summary:
Clonidine, an alpha-2 agonist is a known antihypertensive agent. Because of its sedative and analgesic effects, it is gaining popularity in anaesthesiology. It can be used to premedicate children, as an adjuvant to regional and general anaesthesia and it has several other applications in paediatric anaesthesia. It has also found use in the paediatric intensive care as a sedative, analgesic and to ensure haemodynamic stability. As in the case of any other anaesthetic drug, its use has to be vigilantly monitored.
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Adrenergic Agonists: Therapeutic Uses
Emergency and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) applications: Pressor agents increase blood pressure, heart rate, and contractility in shock and organ failure situations. Dopamine can induce vasodilation and stimulate adrenoceptors. Endogenous catecholamines are effective in treating cardiogenic shock. α2-agonists like clonidine can reverse anesthesia-induced hypertension.
Allergies and anaphylaxis:...
