ORAL MIDAZOLAM COMPARED WITH DIAZEPAM-DROPERIDOL AND TRIMEPRAZINE AS PREMEDICANTS IN CHILDREN

Ninety children were assigned randomly to one of three groups for prem edication with oral midazolam 0.5 mg.kg(-1), diazepam 0.25 mg.kg(-1) w ith droperidol 0.25 mg.kg(-1), or trimeprazine 2 mg.kg(-1). On arrival at the anaesthetic room, anxiolysis was satisfactory in 26 out of 29 (90%) children who received midazolam compared with 23 out of 29 (79%) who received diazepam-droperidol and 18 out of 29 (62%) who received trimeprazine (P<0.05); at induction of anaesthesia these proportions w ere 24 out of 29 (83%), 16 out of 29 (55%) and 11 out of 29 (40%) resp ectively (P<0.001). When individual groups were compared, anxiolysis w as significantly greater in the midazolam group compared with the trim eprazine group on arrival in the anaesthetic room (P<0.05) and signifi cantly greater in the midazolam group than in either the diazepam-drop eridol or the trimeprazine groups at induction of anaesthesia (P<0.05 and P<0.001 respectively). There were no significant differences in ti mes to early recovery between the groups (25.4, 24.4 and 28.5 min). An alysis of behavioural questionnaires completed two weeks after hospita lization showed a trend towards fewer postoperative behavioural distur bances in children who received midazolam or diazepam-droperidol compa red with trimeprazine (47 and 44% vs 75%); when the results for the be nzodiazepine-containing premedicants were combined, the difference bet ween these groups and trimeprazine was statistically significant (P<0. 05).