Oral chloral hydrate provides effective and safe sedation in paediatric magnetic resonance imaging.

SUMMARY Sedation is routinely required for successful Magnetic Resonance imaging in infants and children. Five hundred and ninety-six paediatric patients (270 female and 326 male, age (mean±SD) 41±30 months and weight 14.8±6.5 kg) entered an open, non-comparative, prospective study to assess oral chloral hydrate sedation in a large and homogeneous paediatric population undergoing Magnetic Resonance imaging. Chloral hydrate syrup 70 mg/ml was administered 20–40 min prior to the procedure. Effective sedation was reached in 94.1% with a total dose (mean±SEM) of 68±1 mg/kg (range 20–170 mg/kg). Statistical analysis of sedation failures vs. successful examinations after the total dose showed sig…