Amran Hafiz, Fayyaz Hussain, Naveed Masood.
Computerized axial tomography.
Professional Med J Dec ;14(2):229-36.

Objectives: to evaluate the clinical safety, effectiveness, efficacy and potential side effects of sedation in pediatric patients undergoing computerized tomography by intrarectal thiopentone and to compare this technique with general anaesthesia for computerized tomography in paediatric patients. Study Design: Interventional and analytical / comparative study. Place and duration of study: The study was carried outin Radiology department Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi over a period of 1 year from Jan 2003 to Jan 2004. Material and Methods: Sixty children below 5 years of age were selected by nonprobability convenience sampling and divided into 2 groups A and B, each comprising of 30 children .Group A was sedated by thiopentone sodium that was administered rectally and group B received general anaesthesia with a uniform technique. Results: in group A quality of sedation was judged to be adequate in 26 out of 30 patients (86.6%). Another 2 were sedated but required mild restraint like reposition of the neck leaving 2 with inadequate sedation or an overall failure rate of 6.66%.In group B the success rate was 100% with no observation of any complication. Conclusion: rectally administered thiopental is a safe and effective sedative for paediatric patients requiring CT scanning in the presence of anaesthesiologist and the failure rate is very low. General anaesthesia makes CT scan more successful with minimal adverse events.

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