Sedation with Intranasal Dexmedetomidine in the Pediatric Population for Auditory Brainstem Response Testing: Review of the Existing Literature.

BACKGROUND

Intranasal dexmedetomidine (IN DEX) is a relatively new sedative agent with supporting evidence on its efficacy and safety, which can be used for procedural sedation in children, and could have a major role in auditory brainstem response testing, especially in the case of non-cooperative children. The goal of this systematic review is to assess the role of IN DEX in ABR testing, evaluating the reported protocol, potential, and limits.

METHODS

We performed a comprehensive search strategy on PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, including studies in English on the pediatric population, without time restrictions.

RESULTS

Six articles, published between 2016 and 2021, were included in the systematic review. Sedation effectiveness was high across the studies, except for one study; 3 μg/kg was the dosing most often used. A comparison group was present in three studies, with oral chloral hydrate as the drug of comparison. Adverse effects were rarely reported.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review showed how IN DEX can represent an adequate sedative for children undergoing ABR testing; larger and more rigorous trials are warranted in order to recommend its systematic utilization.