title: Effect of preoperative oral midazolam sedation on separation anxiety and emergence delirium among children undergoing dental treatment under general anesthesia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the possible effects of preoperative oral Midazolam on parental separation anxiety, emergence delirium, and post-anesthesia care unit time on children undergoing dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized, prospective, double-blind study. Seventy-eight American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) I children were divided into two groups of 39 each. Children of the first group were premedicated with oral Midazolam 0.5 mg/kg, while children of the control group were premedicated with a placebo. Scores for parental separation, mask acceptance, postoperative emergence delirium, and time spent in the post-anesthesia care unit were compared statistically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The test group showed significantly lower parental separation scores and high acceptance rate for anesthetic mask. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding emergence delirium and time spent in post-anesthesia care unit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preoperative oral Midazolam could be a useful adjunct in anxiety management for children suffering dental anxiety. The drug may not reduce the incidence of postoperative emergence delirium. The suggested dose does not seem to affect the post-anesthesia care unit time.
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Specialist Dental Practice, College of Dentistry, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
authors.forename: Hisham Yehia
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: El Batawi
keywords: Child dentistry; dental rehabilitation; general anesthesia