Intranasal fentanyl, midazolam and dexmedetomidine as premedication in pediatric patients

Surgery is a very stressful experience for patients. Children are the most susceptible to fear, anxiety, and stress due to their limited cognitive capabilities and dependency. In children, pharmacologic agents are frequently used as premedication to relieve the fear of surgery, to make child-parental separation easy, and to carry out a smooth induction of anesthesia. We conducted this study to compare the efficacy of intranasal fentanyl, midazolam, and dexmedetomidine as premedication in pediatric patients.The present study was conducted prospectively on 75 patients in the age group of 2-6 years of either sex of the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical Class I or II admitted in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, attached to Government Medical College Amritsar, scheduled to undergo surgery under general anesthesia. The patients were divided into three groups of 25 each. Group F received intranasal fentanyl 1.5 μg/kg body weight, Group M received intranasal midazolam 0.3 mg/kg body weight, and Group D received intranasal dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg body weight as nasal drops 50 min before surgery.Children who received intranasal fentanyl and intranasal midazolam had early onset of anxiolysis and sedation as compared to dexmedetomidine. In child-parent separation, quality of induction was better with fentanyl and dexmedetomidine as compared to midazolam. Intravenous cannulation score was best achieved with fentanyl as premedicant. Postoperative sedation was better with dexmedetomidine as compared to fentanyl and midazolam.Onset of action of fentanyl and midazolam is early as compared to that of dexmedetomidine. However, fentanyl provided better conditions for induction and emergence than midazolam. With dexmedetomidine onset of action was delayed and duration of action was prolonged which helped child to remain calm and sedated even after the surgery.