Intranasal dexmedetomidine for sedation in children undergoing transthoracic echocardiography study--a prospective...

Intranasal dexmedetomidine has been used for sedation in children undergoing nonpainful procedures.

The aim of this study was to determine the success rate of intranasal dexmedetomidine sedation for children undergoing transthoracic echocardiography examination.

This was a prospective observational study of 115 children under the age of 3 years undergoing echocardiography examination under sedation with intranasal dexmedetomidine at 3 mcg·kg(-1).

Of the 115 children, 100 (87%) had satisfactory sedation with intranasal dexmedetomidine. The mean onset time was 16.7 ± 7 min (range 5-50 min). The mean wake up time was 44.3 ± 15.1 min (range 12-123 min). The wake up time was significantly correlated with duration of procedure with R = 0.540 (P < 0.001). Aside from one patient who required oxygen supplementation, all children in this investigation had an acceptable heart rate and blood pressure and required no medical intervention.

Sedation by intranasal dexmedetomidine at 3 mcg·kg(-1) is associated with acceptable success rate in children undergoing echocardiography with no adverse events in this cohort.