Premedication in children: Hypnosis versus midazolam

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,  Jul 2005  by Wickramsekera, Ian II

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Calipel, S., Lucaspolomeni, M., & Wodey, E. (2005). Premedication in children: Hypnosis versus midazolam. Pediatric Anesthesia, 15 (4), 275-282. The practice of premedication with children prior to surgery is sometimes employed to facilitate the preoperative separation from the parents, to reduce preoperative anxiety, to smooth the induction of anesthesia, and to lower the risk of postoperative behavioral disorders.

The authors of this study wished to examine whether hypnosis could be substituted as an alternative to premedication treatment with midazolam. Fifty children ranging in age from 2 to 11 years were randomized into two groups that received either hypnosis or midazolam prior to their scheduled surgery. There were no significant differences observed in preoperative anxiety between the treatment groups. Midazolam was more effective in reducing anxiety just prior to the introduction of anesthesia. Hypnosis reduced the frequency of occurrence of behavior disorders observed in the children postoperatively. The authors concluded that hypnosis might be as effective as premedication with midazolam in children scheduled for surgery through alleviating preoperative anxiety and postoperative behavioral disorders. Email address for reprints: eric.wodey@chu-rennes.fr

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