Successful sedation of pediatric patients via chloral hydrate during diagnostic studies

Background and Objectives: Patients’ movements often need to be restrained to obtain high‐quality diagnostic images. Chloral hydrate is the primary agent for pediatric sedation prior to diagnostic studies in some countries. However, because of the agent's long half‐life, the need for augmentation must be minimized by ensuring the success of the initial dose. This study aimed to identify factors influencing sedation success rate and sedation duration. Methods: Pediatric patients’ age, sex, and dose according to body weight, type of clinic, duration of stay, and weight‐for‐age percentile were analyzed in univariate and multivariate regression analyses. Results: Of the total of 1590 patients, 1325 (82.7%) were successfully sedated. Predictors of successful sedation were a minimum dosage of 60 mg/kg and a younger age. Early sedation (mean − 1 standard deviation, <18 min) occurred in 10.9% of the pediatric patients who were successfully sedated. For this value, visits to emergency center B (adjusted odds ratio, 2.673; 95% confidence interval, 1.660–4.305) and visits during daytime hours appeared to be influencing factors. Conclusion: For safe and successful pediatric sedation, the child's age and appropriate dose must be thoroughly reviewed, and a quiet and secluded environment must be ensured. Furthermore, taking into account that the patient's age and developmental stage can affect induction time, care should be taken to avoid unnecessary augmentation