Intermittent small doses of propofol for sedation of pediatric patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Sedation of children is always necessary for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). General anesthesia may be recommended for infants and small children to protect the airway or in children who have previously failed sedation. Our practice has been to use intermittent administration of small doses of propofol.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the anesthesia records of all children who underwent sedation for MRI between March 2004 and March 2007.

Results: A total of 120 children underwent sedation for MRI. Few adverse events (respiratory 3%, movement 8%) and no complications occurred during sedation. Almost all of the procedures (99%) were completed successfully.

Conclusions: Our experience demonstrates that intermittent administration of small doses of propofol by experienced personnel for MRI can be used safely and effectively in pediatric patients.