Vol. 6, Issue 3 (2017)

Material and Methods: This prospective comparison study encompassed 40 pediatric patients (aged 1-10 years) slated for MRI at a tertiary care facility. This study was conducted at the Department of Radiology, Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India from April 2016 to March 2017. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups of 20 individuals each. Group A was administered intravenous propofol sedation, whereas Group B got inhalational anesthesia with sevoflurane. Metrics including sedation duration, hemodynamic stability, recovery duration, adverse events, and imaging quality (evaluated by blinded radiologists) were documented. Data were evaluated utilizing SPSS version 22.0, with a p-value of <0.05 deemed statistically significant.

Results: Both methods successfully administered sufficient sedation for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The induction and recovery periods for Group A (propofol) were significantly shorter (p<0.05), while Group B (sevoflurane) showed greater hemodynamic stability during the procedure. Group A had a slightly higher incidence of mild adverse events (such as temporary desaturation), but this difference was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the groups' image quality scores.

Conclusion: Safe and effective sedation options for pediatric MRI include intravenous propofol and inhalational sevoflurane. Propofol is ideal for shorter imaging sessions because to its quick induction and recovery time, whereas sevoflurane is better for longer or high-risk procedures due to its superior hemodynamic stability.