[Comparative study of intravenous midazolam and diazepam used as sedative agents in upper digestive endoscopy]

This study compares the effects of midazolam and diazepam used for sedation during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. One hundred unpremedicated patients who were to undergo gastroscopy were enrolled in a prospective controlled study. They were randomly allocated to two groups. The patients of group I and group II were given respectively midazolam and diazepam. 0.07 mg.kg-1 midazolam were given to patients less than 65 years old, and 0.06 mg.kg-1 after that age. Diazepam doses were 0.15 mg.kg-1 and 0.11 mg.kg-1 respectively. The effect and duration of both drugs were similar. The main differences between them were as follows: the intravenous injection of midazolam was not painful (p < 0.01); sedation (p < 0.05), amnesia (p < 0.01) and patient contentedness were most frequent with midazolam. Neither drug had clinically significant cardiovascular effects.