Outpatient sedation: an essential addition to gynecologic care for persons with mental retardation.
Routine gynecologic care for persons with mental retardation may be difficult to provide, especially to those women who do not allow a pelvic examination to be performed. Of 275 women referred to a multidisciplinary clinic addressing the reproductive health concerns of mentally retarded women, 61 patients (22%) did not allow a gynecologic examination to be performed. The administration of ketamine alone, midazolam alone, or a combination of midazolam and ketamine allowed for the successful performance of a gynecologic examination in 81% of previously uncooperative women. No adverse effects of the medications were noted. We conclude that sedation of difficult-to-examine, mentally handicapped women can be safely performed in the outpatient setting, thus avoiding the need for general anesthesia and its inherent risks.
Rosen
D A
DA
Department of Anesthesia, Pediatrics and Communicable Disease, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109-0718.
Rosen
K R
KR
Elkins
T E
TE
Andersen
H F
HF
McNeeley
S G
SG
Sorg
C
C
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D010808:Physical Examination
D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives