Preliminary experience with oral dexmedetomidine for procedural and anesthetic premedication

BACKGROUND: Oral premedication is often required in children to provide anxiolysis and lessen the psychological impact of hospitalization and/or procedures. We present our experience with dexmedetomidine as an oral premedicant prior to procedural sedation or anesthetic induction. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective review of the anesthesia or sedation service records of patients who received oral dexmedetomidine. RESULTS: The cohort for the study included 13 patients ranging in age from 4 to 14 years. Oral dexmedetomidine (mean dose: 2.6 +/- 0.83 microg.kg(-1); range 1.0-4.2 microg.kg(-1)) was used as premedication prior to anesthesia induction in four patients and prior to intravenous (IV) cannula placement for procedural sedation in nine patients with neurobehavioral problems. Effective sedation was achieved in 11 of 13 patients. The one patient in whom anxiolysis was not achieved received the lowest dose of dexmedetomidine (1 microg.kg(-1)) prior to anesthesia induction. In the other three patients, parental separation and acceptance of the mask was achieved at 20-30 min with a dose of 2.5 microg.kg(-1). When used for procedural sedation, placement of an IV cannula was accomplished without difficulty in seven of eight patients with neurobehavioral disorders and with only mild resistance in the other. No complications were noted and parental satisfaction with the sedation experience was high. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data suggest that dexmedetomidine may be an effective oral premedicant prior to anesthesia induction or procedural sedation. We found that it was effective even in patients with neurobehavioral disorders in whom previous attempts at sedation had failed.