Pediatr Crit Care Me
-
Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jan 2001
A comparison of propofol and ketamine/midazolam for intravenous sedation of children.
To compare ketamine and propofol sedation in children undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: A six-bed pediatric intensive care unit and a pediatric hematology oncology clinic. PATIENTS: From 1996 to 1998, 405 procedures were performed on patients between 1 month and 22 yrs of age. INTERVENTIONS: All patients but one were sedated intravenously with either propofol or ketamine; those who received ketamine also received midazolam and either atropine or glycopyrrolate. Vital signs were monitored continuously. Procedures included bone marrow biopsies, lumbar punctures, esophagoduodenoscopies, colonoscopies, and other miscellaneous procedures. A pediatric intensivist performed all sedations. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN ⋯ Both propofol and ketamine provided safe and effective sedation for the short, painful procedures performed. Because the patients who received propofol awakened almost twice as quickly as the patients who received ketamine, the sedation service operated more efficiently when propofol was used. The major complication rates for propofol and ketamine were small, and the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant. We conclude that with proper monitoring, intravenous propofol can be used safely and effectively for short procedures in the pediatric setting.