Pediatric Sedation for MRI

Abstract

agnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), is primarily a medical imaging technique commonly used in radiology to envisage the internal structure of the body as it offers much greater contrast between the different soft tissues of the body than Computed Tomography (CT). Many techniques in radiology such as MRI require the pediatric patient to lie absolutely still for the acquisition of the images which may take from a few minutes up to an hour. For the procedure to be undertaken successfully, often there is a need for adequate sedation which in children is different from adults. The set up in the radiology department may be remote from the main operative set ups, which makes giving sedation in these locations more risky due to inadequate facilities, lack of immediate help or trained personnel. There are wide variety of formulations for pediatric sedation and they vary greatly. These regimens are usually influenced by a spectrum of factors including the practitioner’s preferences, cost effectiveness, the presence of co-morbid conditions in the child and the hospital set up. Often the requirement of a diagnostic facility like MRI indicates an underlying high risk pathology which may have anesthetic implications. These may include delayed milestones, congenital anomalies, convulsions or systemic infections. As a result of these pathologies, various drawbacks are encountered in the