Efficacy and safety of rectal thiopental, intramuscular cocktail and rectal midazolam for sedation in children undergoing neuroimaging

Background : This study was designed to investigate the overall usefulness of rectal thiopental, rectal midazolam and i.m. modified cocktail (meperidine‐chlorpromazine hydrochloride‐feniramin maleat) in 70 children undergoing computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods : The dosage of thiopental was 50 mg per kg for infants under 6 months of age, 35 mg per kg between six and 12 months, and 25 mg per kg for older children. The maximal dose did not exceed 700 mg in this study. The dosage of midazolam was 1 mg per kg for all children. A modified cocktail was described as a formulation including 11 mg/mL of meperidine, 2.8 mg/mL of chlorpromazine and 2.8 mg/mL of pheniramine maleat. The dosage of modified cocktail was 0.1 mL per kg for all children. Results : The mean induction time for the i.m. cocktail was significantly longer than that for rectal thiopental (P 0.05). Although the mean duration of sleep for rectal thiopental and i.m. cocktail was similar, the mean discharge duration for i.m. cocktail was significantly longer than that for rectal thiopental (P