Sedation with oral chloral hydrate in children undergoing MRI scanning.

In the absence of a general anaesthetic facility for MRI scanning in children, we introduced a sedation protocol using chloral hydrate. Our aim was to evaluate the success and safety of our protocol. This was a retrospective study enrolling 36 children over a 7 month period. The overall success rate was 86% with no child experiencing respiratory complications. In those less than one year, the success rate was 100%, aged 1-5 years 91%, with 50% successful at 80 mg/kg and 50% at 100 mg/kg dose. For children greater than 5 years of age the success rate was 70%. 92% of developmentally normal children and 83% of developmentally delayed children were successfully sedated. Success rates were poorer in children older than 5 years and in those with developmental delay. Our findings suggest that this protocol could be safely used in units where general anaesthetic facilities are unavailable for MRI and for other radiological investigations.