ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of preoperative oral midazolam on emergence agitation after sevoflurane anesthesia in children.Methods Sixty children,34 males,26 females, aged 2-7 years,ASA grade Ⅰ or Ⅱ,receiving sevoflurane for tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy were ran-domly divided into low dose midazolam group (group M1),high dose midazolam group (group M2) and control group (group C)(n=20 each).The 5 ml mixture of midazolam 0.5 mg/kg,0.75 mg/kg and 10% glucose was taken orally 30 min before anesthesia in group M1 and group M2,respectively. While 5 ml of 10% glucose was given in group C.Anesthesia was induced with inhalation of 8%sevoflurane and maintained with intravenous infusion of remifentanil and inhalation of sevoflurane. Scores of parental separation anxiety scale(PSAS),pediatric anesthesia emergence delirium scale (PAED scale),FLACC scale were compared.Times to extubation and discharge from PACU were al-so recorded.Results Group C showed significantly higher incidence of separation anxiety(P <0.05). The incidence of emergence agitation,peak PAED scores,FLACC scores,time to extubation were similar among three groups.Discharge time from PACU was longer in group M2 (P < 0.05). Conclusion Preoperative oral midazolam 0.5 mg/kg or 0.75 mg/kg can effectively reduce parental separation anxiety.This,however,dose not result in a reduced incidence of emergence agitation after sevoflurane anesthesia.Midazolam 0.75 mg/kg can extend the discharge time from PACU.