Comparison of sedation using pentobarbital or chlorpromazine in pediatric non-invasive imaging procedures: A before and after study.: Comparison of sedation using pentobarbital or chlorpromazine in non-invasive imaging procedures.

Background: Sedation is often required for pediatric medical imaging procedures to ensure compliance and image quality. Recommendations for pediatric sedation exist, but there are currently no guidelines for the choice of the sedative drug.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and adverse events of per os pentobarbital with intravenous chlorpromazine in children undergoing diagnostic imaging procedures. We hypothesized that the efficacy of per os pentobarbital would not be inferior to that of intravenous chlorpromazine, that safety would be similar, and that patient acceptance would be higher.

Material And Methods: A pilot study (before and after study methodology) was performed. The sedation of 247 children with intravenous chlorpromazine or oral pentobarbital was evaluated for 6 months successively (independently by two radiologists, both blinded to the sedation technique). The primary outcome was sedation success as defined by an acceptable image quality. Secondary outcomes were induction time, length of hospital stay, adverse events, parental satisfaction and potential factors associated with failure of pentobarbital sedation.

Results: The sedation success rate of per os pentobarbital was found to be not inferior to that of intravenous chlorpromazine (83 % vs 90 %, p < 0.01). Mean length of hospital stay was shorter with per os pentobarbital. Despite the higher incidence of agitation during recovery with per os pentobarbital, parents expressed a preference for it. Per os pentobarbital failed more often in children older than 5 years.

Conclusion: Per os pentobarbital may be an effective alternative to intravenous chlorpromazine, especially in children under 5 years of age.