Dexmedetomidine vs Ketamine for Pediatric Procedural Sedation in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective: to design and conduct the effectiveness of ketamine vs dexmedetomidine in children’s sedation at emergency department (ed). methods: this randomized clinical trial study was carried out at the two trauma centers in mashhad, iran. the patients were divided into two groups by means of a random numbers table to be treated with ketamine (n=20) or dexmedetomidine (n=20). their demographic information and sedation times of drugs were collected and analyzed. results: in general, sedation time was significantly higher in the ketamine group, 14.35 minutes (iqr:9.82-19) than in the dexmedetomidine group, 9.7 minutes (8.35-14.23) (p=0.023). time of injection to complete anesthesia was 45.25 (iqr:30-58) and 72 (iqr:60.25-82) minutes in ketamine and dexmedetomidine groups, respectively (p<0.01). in the case of recovery, grade 4 of the ramsey scale was statistically more prevalent in dexmedetomidine (45%) than in the ketamine group (p=0.0001). conclusion: this study demonstrated that dexmedetomidine could be used in cases where a shorter sedation time is vital. ketamine could be a better choice where full recovery time (from injection) matters most. clinical trial registration code: ir.mums.fm.rec.1396.534.