The association of preprocedural anxiety and the success of procedural sedation in children

• Published in: The American journal of emergency medicine 2006-07, Vol.24 (4), p.397-401
• Main Authors: Schreiber, Kevin M., Cunningham, Sandra J., Kunkov, Sergey, Crain, Ellen F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Anesthesia; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Anesthetics, Intravenous; Anxiety; Anxiety - drug therapy; Anxiety - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Confidence intervals; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures - psychology; Drug dosages; Emergency medical care; Emergency Service, Hospital; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Hypnotics. Sedatives; Intensive care medicine; Local anesthesia. Pain (treatment); Male; Medical sciences; Neuropharmacology; Pain; Pain - drug therapy; Pain Measurement; Pediatrics; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Prospective Studies; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0735-6757; 1532-8171
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2005.10.025

To investigate the association between a child's preprocedural state anxiety and the success of sedation. A consecutive sample of children aged 2 through17 years requiring sedation for a procedure was enrolled. Pain, preprocedural anxiety (range, 0-9), and success of sedation (10 = most successful) were measured. Fifty-nine patients were enrolled. The median age was 7 years. The median anxiety score was 1.0 (interquartile ratio, 0-3). Pain and anxiety were weakly correlated ( r = .21, P > .10). The mean sedation score was 7.8 (±2.2). Preprocedural anxiety and successful sedation were inversely correlated ( r = −0.31, P = .002). Sedation was successful in 81% of children with anxiety scores below the median and 52% with anxiety scores above the median ( P = .02). Children with low anxiety were 3.8 times more likely to be successfully sedated (95% confidence interval, 1.19-12.14). Our data suggest that preprocedural state anxiety is associated with the success of sedation in children.