Is chloral hydrate hydroxyzine a good option for paediatric dental outpatient sedation?

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate in a random double-blin d design, the sedative and behavioural responses of children undergoing out patient paediatric dental procedures receiving either chloral hydrate (CH) alone or in combination with hydroxyzine. Forty American Society of Anaesth esiologists class I children (21 to 36 months of age) were randomly allocat ed to receive either 70 mg/kg CH alone or with 2 mg/kg hydroxyzine. The deg ree of crying, movement and overall behaviour was evaluated during treatmen t at different times. The combination of chloral hydrate/hydroxyzine (CH/H) significantly decreased crying and movement in relation to the effect indu ced by CH alone (p < 0.05) only at 45-60 min following the insertion of a r ubber dam, whereas the overall behaviour in both groups was Mo different th roughout the dental procedures. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that hydroxyzine increased the effect of CH. However, because of the presence of high rates of oxygen desaturations and of deep sedation, careful use of th is drug combination should be stressed.