title: Effect of oral chloral hydrate sedation on the intraocular pressure measurement.
abstract: We measured the intraocular pressure (IOP) of 50 normal, cooperative, awake children below 6 years of age and 10 glaucoma patients with the Perkins' hand-held applanation tonometer (Perkins) and the Digilab pneumatonographer-tonometer (Pneuma). The measurements were repeated after oral chloral hydrate administration in the dose of 100 mg/kg body weight for the first 10 kg plus 50 mg/kg for every additional kg. There were no clinically or statistically significant changes in IOP measured before and after chloral hydrate in the 50 normal children (Pneuma: mean = 14.74 +/- 1.27 mm Hg vs 14.74 +/- 0.96 mm Hg; P > .05; Perkins: mean = 5.86 +/- 1.69 mm Hg vs 5.61 +/- 1.50 mm Hg; P > .05) or in the 15 glaucomatous eyes (Pneuma: mean = 28.93 +/- 5.26 vs 28.47 +/- 4.42 mm Hg; Perkins: mean = 20.27 +/- 5.36 vs 19.53 +/- 4.49 mm Hg; P > 0.05). Although some children did resist swallowing the bitter-tasting medicine, no significant side effects were encountered. The high-dose oral chloral hydrate protocol resulted in efficient sedation in children below the age of 6 years, without any alteration of the IOP levels in both normal and glaucomatous eyes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jaafar
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kazi
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002697:Chloral Hydrate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016292:Procedural Sedation; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014065:Tonometry, Ocular / Q000295:instrumentation
chemical_list: D002697:Chloral Hydrate