Dexmedetomidine Sedation in Children With Respiratory Morbidities

Children up to the age of 16 years requiring MRI under deep sedation with at least 3 characteristics of respiratory morbidities were identified as having increased risk for adverse respiratory events. Dexmedetomidine was administered as a first bolus of 1 mcg•kg-1 over 10 min, followed by a continuous infusion at 1.0 mcg•kg-1•h-1. Sedation level was assessed by Ramsay Sedation Scale and it was initially recorded at 1-min interval. If the child failed to achieve a minimum RSS of 5, this bolus was repeated once again and the continuous infusion was subsequently increased to 2 mcg•kg-1•h-1. In addition, propofol 0.5 mg.kg-1 iv. was allowed to be administered, in patients still exhibiting movement that could interfere with image acquisition.