[Premedication in children--a clinical trial of bromazepam and chloral hydrate suppositories].

We performed a study on 141 pediatric patients between 6 months and 7 years of age who underwent scheduled radical operation for inguinal hernia, to evaluate bromazepam suppository and chloral hydrate suppository as anesthetic premedication for short pediatric operations. The study was also focused on the difference of the effects of the two drugs between two age groups: younger than 5 years, and 5 years and older. The younger age group required a larger bromazepam dose compared with the older age group, and in the younger group even the larger bromazepam dose did not produce a high sedative effect as chloral hydrate. In the older group, bromazepam and chloral hydrate were equally effective. In respect to emergence from anesthesia, bromazepam delayed emergence compared with chloral hydrate after which children awoke from anesthesia very clearly. Thus, chloral hydrate suppository seemed more useful as premedicants in short pediatric operations for its high sedative effect without affecting emergence.