Abstract
Ophthalmic examinations of developmentally delayed/autistic children are challenging. Oral midazolam may be a viable alternative to general anaesthesia for this indication. Single-centre retrospective cohort study (January 2018–March 2020). Oral midazolam (0.5 mg/kg, max 15 mg). Metrics included: patient demographics, examination completion rate, duration of stay and adverse events. 50 oral midazolam examinations were performed (45 patients). Mean age was 79.12 months. All had developmental delay (66.67% autism). Time to ophthalmic examination was 60.31 minutes. Eye examination was successfully completed in 98%. No adverse events were reported. Mean stay was 3.35 hours. Oral midazolam (0.5 mg/kg, max 15 mg) is associated with safe, successful completion of ophthalmic examinations in children previously unexaminable in clinic.
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Abbreviations
- AE:
-
Adverse events
- EUA:
-
Examination under anaesthesia
- GA:
-
General anaesthetic
- ID:
-
Intellectual disability
- IOP:
-
Intraocular pressure
- PIL:
-
Parent information leaflet
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GRM involved in study design, data compilation, manuscript preparation/revision. KAJS involved in manuscript preparation/revision. GC involved in clinical examination of subjects, manuscript preparation/revision. OF involved in characterization of patients, manuscript preparation/revision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The authors declare there are no financial or non-financial conflicts of interests. The collection and storage of data followed the correct data protection methods. Patient data was anonymised. Information which could identify a patient (i.e. the hospital chart number) is kept in a password protected hospital computer. Ethical approval is not required as this audit did not involve anything being done to patients beyond their normal clinical management.
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Ethical approval is not required as this audit did not involve anything being done to patients beyond their normal clinical management.
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McBride, G.R., Stephenson, K.A.J., Comer, G. et al. The Use of Oral Midazolam to Facilitate the Ophthalmic Examination of Children with Autism and Developmental Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 51, 1678–1682 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04658-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04658-2