SUBLINGUAL TRIAZOLAM VERSUS PERORAL DIAZEPAM AS A PREMEDICATION FOR GENERAL-ANESTHESIA

Sublingual triazolam 0.2 mg (T) was compared with peroral diazepam 10 mg (D) as a premedicant in a randomised, double-blind study. Eighty-on e ASA I-III patients aged 18-70 yr, scheduled for elective surgery and general anaesthesia were studied. The patients were premedicated abou t one hour preoperatively. The T-group subjects (n = 41) received tria zolam si after a placebo po and the D-group subjects (n = 40) diazepam po before a sl placebo. Anxiety and sedation were evaluated before pr emedication, every 15 min after that until the patient was removed to the operating room, just before the induction of anaesthesia and both 30 and 60 min after operation. Anxiety and sedation were evaluated by the patient using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and by the anaesthetis t with a scale of 0-3 for anxiety and 0-4 for sedation. The patients' experiences with regards to their premedication and visit to the opera ting unit were investigated after the operation. In both groups sedati on and anxiolysis became different at 30-45 min after premedication, b ut at the time just before the induction of anaesthesia there was seda tion and anxiolysis only in the T-group. There was no difference betwe en the groups at any time. The T-group patients were more satisfied wi th their premedication and visit to the operating unit. The study drug s did not cause any cardiorespiratory or other side effects. We conclu de that triazolam 0.2 mg sl is at least as effective a premedication a s diazepam 10 mg po, that it is suitable for patients that cannot swal low, and that the patients were more satisfied with it than with diaze pam.