Modified dynamic needle tip positioning short-axis, out-of-plane, ultrasound-guided radial artery cannulation in neonates improves the first-attempt and total success rates and decreases the total procedural time and incidence of cannulation-related complications.

Summary Background Intranasal procedural sedation using dexmedetomidine is well described in the literature. The combination of intranasal dexmedetomidine and ketamine is a novel approach for which there are little data on the rate of successful sedation or adverse events. Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of successful sedation and adverse events of intranasal procedural sedation using a combination of dexmedetomidine and ketamine for diagnostic examination in children. Methods This was a retrospective study and data were collected after ethics approval. A total of 17 948 pediatric patients (7718 females, 10 230 males) in a tertiary hospital in China were evaluated. Patients received a combination of 2 μg kg−1 of dexmedetomidine and 1 mg kg−1 of ketamine intranasally for procedural sedation. The level of sedation and recovery was assessed by the Modified Observer Assessment of Alertness/Sedation scale and the Modified Aldrete Score. Results The rate of intranasal sedation success was 93% (16691/17948), intranasal sedation rescue was 1.8% (322/17948), and intranasal sedation failure was 5.2% (935/17948). Sedation success was defined as successful completed the diagnostic examination and obtained adequate diagnostic‐quality images and reports. Intranasal sedation success, rescue and failure were respectively defined as sedation success with intranasal a single dose, additional bolus dose and the need for intravenous (IV) medications/inhalation agents. Median sedation time was 62 min (interquartile range: 55‐70 min), median time for onset of sedation was 15 min (interquartile range: 15‐20 min), and median sedation recovery time was 45 min (interquartile range: 38‐53 min). Incidence of adverse events was low (0.58%; 105/17948), with major and minor adverse event being reported in 0.02% (4/17948) and 0.56% (101/17948) patients, respectively. Postoperative nausea and vomiting was the most common (0.3%; 53/17948) minor adverse event. Conclusion Procedural sedation using a combination of intranasal dexmedetomidine and ketamine is associated with acceptable effectiveness and low rates of adverse events.

Single-dose of intranasal dexmedetomidine was an effective agent for patients under the age of 3 years requiring sedation for transthoracic echocardiography. The 50% effective dose of intranasal dexmedetomidine for transthoracic echocardiography sedation in children aged 13-36 months was higher than in children <13 months.

BackgroundThis meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the analgesics effect and safety of dexmedetomidine (DEX) combined with bupivacaine (BU) on caudal epidural block.Material/MethodsPublished studies were identified using the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from inception until October 2017. Relative risk (RR), the standardized mean difference (SMD), and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the STATA 12.0.ResultsTen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected for this meta-analysis, involving a total of 691 patients. There was a longer duration of postoperative analgesia in children receiving DEX (SMD=3.19, 95% CI: 2.16–4.22, P<0.001). Furthermore, there was a lower number of patients requiring rescue analgesics in the (BU) + (DEX) group (6 hours: RR=0.09, 95% CI: 0.05–0.17, P<0.001; 12 hours: RR=0.50, 95% CI: 0.32–0.79, P=0.003; 24 hours: RR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.51–0.85, P=0.002). Finally, the occurrence of adverse events, between BU and DEX + BU group, was not statistically significant (RR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.58–1.58, P>0.05).ConclusionsDEX seems to be a promising adjuvant to BU increase duration of caudal analgesia without an increase in side effects in children. However, the result may be influenced by clinical heterogeneity. More large-scale, multicenter, approaching, double-blinded RCTs are required to confirm our results.