Is Orally Administered Pentobarbital a Safe and Effective Alternative to Chloral Hydrate for Pediatric Procedural Sedation?

Objectives: Chloral hydrate had been extensively used for children undergoing sedation for imaging studies, but after the manufacturer discontinued production, pediatric sedation providers explored alternative sedation medications. Those medications needed to be at least as safe and as effective as chloral hydrate. In this study, we examined if pentobarbital is a suitable replacement for chloral hydrate.

Methods: Subjects who received pentobarbital were recruited from a prospectively collected database, whereas we used a retrospective chart review to study subjects who received chloral hydrate. Sedation success was defined as the ability to provide adequate sedation using a single medication. We included electively performed sedations for subjects aged 2 months to 3 years who received either pentobarbital or chloral hydrate orally. We excluded subjects stratified as American Academy of Anesthesiologists category III or higher and those who received sedation for electroencephalogram. The data collected captured subject demographics and complications.

Results: Five hundred thirty-four subjects were included in the final analysis, 368 in the chloral hydrate group and 166 in the pentobarbital group. Subjects who received pentobarbital had a statistically significant higher success rate [136 (82%) vs 238 (65%), p < 0.001], but longer sleeping time (18.1% vs 0%, p < 0.001) in all age groups. Subjects who received chloral hydrate had a higher risk of airway complications in the <1 year of age group (6.5% vs 1.8%, p = 0.03).

Conclusions: For pediatric patients younger than 3 years of age undergoing sedation for imaging studies, oral pentobarbital may be at least as effective and as safe as chloral hydrate, making it an acceptable and practical alternative.