The influence of parents' voice on the consumption of propofol for pediatric procedural sedation-a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

In pediatric patients, invasive procedures such as the insertion of a central venous catheter or gastroscopy require deep sedation. It is unknown whether listening to parental voice during deep sedation in children can reduce sedative doses. The aim of this prospective study was to determine the effect of listening to a parent's voice during deep sedation on consumption of sedatives in children. Fifty children aged 2-14 years undergoing central line placement or gastroscopy under deep sedation with propofol were randomly assigned to two groups: (A) listening or (B) not listening their parents' recorded voice reading a standardized text by the use of earphones. Depth of sedation was monitored by Comfort Score and by Bispectral Index. Mean sedative dose of propofol in both groups was equal (A 0.25 mg·kg-1 ·min-1 ; B 0.28 mg·kg-1 ·min-1 ; Δ -0.03 mg·kg-1 ·min-1 (CI 95% -0.08 to 0.01); P = 0.089). Furthermore, complication rate (P = 1.0) and recovery time (A 14.5 min; B 16.1 min; Δ = -1.6 min (CI 95% -6.98 to 3.81); P = 0.60) did not differ between the intervention and the control group. Listening to parental voice during deep sedation does not result in a reduction of sedative dose in children undergoing short medical procedures.