Comparison of nebulized fentanyl, midazolam, and dexmedetomidine as a sedative premedication in outpatient pediatric dental surgeries: a randomized double-blind study

Background The preoperative time is traumatic for young children undergoing surgery. Parental separation and needle injection increase preoperative anxiety. Preoperative sedation in children is usually administered via the rectal, oral sublingual, and intranasal routes with different degrees of patient acceptance. Nebulized drug is an alternative method of sedation that is relatively easy to set up. Materials and Methods Thirty nine pediatric patients (2–6) years old scheduled for outpatient dental surgeries were randomly allocated in three groups (13 patients each); group (F) received nebulized fentanyl 2 μg/kg 30 min before surgery, group (M) received nebulized midazolam 0.2 mg/kg 30 min before surgery and group (D) received nebulized dexmedetomidine 2 μg/kg 30 min before surgery. The outcome measures included onset of sedation, parental separation, tolerance to mask induction, reaction to intravenous cannulation and preoperative hemodynamic changes (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate). Results Children who received nebulized fentanyl and nebulized midazolam had early onset of 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 premedication. Conclusion Nebulized fentanyl in a dose of 2 μg/kg is better than nebulized midazolam 0.2 mg/kg and nebulized dexmedetomidine 2 μg/kg as far as premedication is concerned because of its early onset of action, deeper levels of sedation, easy child-parent separation and shorter duration of action.