Retrospective Evaluation of Moderate Sedation Visits That Used Oral Meperidine and Hydroxyzine With Oral or Intranasal Midazolam

Purpose: To examine the influence of substituting intranasal (IN) midazolam (MID) for oral (PO) MID, within the three-drug combination of meperidine (MEP), hydroxyzine (H) and MID, on sedation treatment outcomes. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis examined patient variables and sedation outcomes in 508 pediatric dental patients sedated by single- and multi-drug sedation regimens (MEP-H; MEP-H-(PO)-MID; MEP-H-(IN)-MID; single-agent MID). The outcome assessment examined sedation visit effectiveness, sedation treatment completion, treatment time and medication administration to discharge time. Multivariable logistic regression analyses assessed predictive variables associated with sedation visit effectiveness. Results: Both three-drug combinations (MEP-H-(PO)-MID; MEP-H-(IN)-MID) were used for behavior guidance in children of a similar age (median age=7.1 and 6.5 years, respectively, for the two drug combinations) and weight (median weight = 23.7 and 23.5 kg, respectively, for the two drug combinations). These three-drug combinations had a higher likelihood of sedation effectiveness over the reference sedation regimen of single-agent midazolam (MEP-H-(PO)-MID adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.65; 95 percent confidence interval [95% CI]=1.09 to 6.45; P=0.032; and MEP-H(IN)-MID OR=2.08; 95% CI=1.03 to 4.18; P=0.039). MEP-H-(IN)MID was associated with a shorter medication administration to discharge time for patients by 23 minutes (interquartile range [IQR]=9.5 to 34 minutes) compared to MEP-H-(PO) MID (P<0.05) while providing a comparable number of teeth treated (median=five). All sedation drug regimens, including MEP-H-(IN)MID, had high levels of oxygen saturation during all sedation appointments. Conclusion: Substituting IN for PO MID in MEP-H-MID was associated with a shorter total time to discharge while demonstrating comparable efficacy during sedation.