Needle-free pharmacological sedation techniques in paediatric patients for imaging procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Full text: https://www.bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(22)00517-7/fulltext

The authors present extensive review of the current literature relating to providing sedation “needle free” for MRI. The study includes a wide variety of different techniques of providing sedation in children aged 0-8 years sourced from various databases. A total of 67 studies were included spanning 22380 patients.

It becomes clear from reading the paper, that given there are so many differences in sedation techniques, dosing, duration of action and reporting of complication and success rates, that no clear conclusion can be reached as to which needle free method is superior in regards to safety, success rates and acceptability for paediatric patients for MRI. However, as the article concludes when considering such needle free sedation techniques – well organised team and careful patient selection are vital to ensure safety is maintained in such remote environments.

Reviewed by Dr Renee Burton