title: Chloral hydrate sedation: a simple technique.
abstract: Chloral hydrate is an oral sedative commonly used in pediatric dentistry when providing extensive treatment in the young child. This article reports the results of a clinical trial using an orally administered dose of chloral hydrate at 75 mg/kg of body weight plus nitrous oxide and oxygen. A method for administering the drug that minimizes initial drug expectoration and vomiting is also presented. Because a reliable method for delivery of chloral hydrate is essential in a study of the ideal effective dose, the authors describe a technique that makes this portion of the treatment process as pleasant as possible by associating the drug with a product known to be pleasing to most children of this age group. The results of the clinical trial of 50 patients revealed that 29 children (58%) slept through the entire procedure and 14 (28%) of the children presented only mild resistance either during anesthesia and/or treatment. If some mild resistance is acceptable to the practitioner then there was an approximately 85% success rate. The authors concluded that chloral hydrate used at a 75 mg/kg dose and supplemented by nitrous oxide/oxygen is a safe and reliably effective sedative for the preschool child.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Mississippi School of Dentistry, Jackson, USA.
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Ball
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Perkins
mesh_terms: D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002697:Chloral Hydrate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000379:methods*; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant
chemical_list: D002697:Chloral Hydrate