Sleep effect of rectal methohexitone (10 mg/kg) in children premedicated for anaesthesia.

Methohexitone (10 mg/kg) was administered before 464 general anaesthesias for 317 children following intramuscular atropine and pethidine for various ophthalmological procedures. Approximately 70% of the children were asleep when anaesthesia was continued or started, usually with halothane in nitrous oxide and oxygen. Although the dose of methohexitone used here was smaller than that recommended in the literature, the results of the study did not greatly differ from earlier investigations in which no other premedication was given but where 20 mg/kg methohexitone was used.