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. 2012 Sep;22(3):303-8.

A comparison of buccal midazolam and intravenous diazepam for the acute treatment of seizures in children

Seyed-Hassan Tonekaboni  1 , Farhad Mahvelati Shamsabadi, Seyed-Saeed Anvari, Ali Mazrooei, Mohammad Ghofrani
Affiliations

A comparison of buccal midazolam and intravenous diazepam for the acute treatment of seizures in children

Seyed-Hassan Tonekaboni et al. Iran J Pediatr. 2012 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to compare efficacy and safety of buccal midazolam with intravenous diazepam in control of seizures in Iranian children.

Methods: This is a randomized clinical trial. 92 patients with acute seizures, ranging from 6 months to 14 years were randomly assigned to receive either buccal midazolam (32 cases) or intravenous diazepam (60 cases) at the emergency department of a children's hospital. The primary outcome of this study was cessation of visible seizure activity within 5 minutes from administration of the first dosage. The second dosage was used in case the seizure remained uncontrolled 5 minutes after the first one.

Findings: In the midazolam group, 22 (68.8%) patients were relieved from seizures in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, diazepam controlled the episodes of 42 (70%) patients within 10 minutes. The difference was, however, not statistically significant (P=0.9). The mean time required to control the convulsive episodes after administration of medications was not statistically significant (P=0.09). No significant side effects were observed in either group. Nevertheless, the risk of respiratory failure in intravenous diazepam is greater than in buccal midazolam.

Conclusion: Buccal midazolam is as effective as and safer than intravenous diazepam in control of seizures.

Keywords: Buccal Drug Administration; Childhood; Diazepam; Intravenous Injections; Midazolam; Seizure.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of patients
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Box and whisker plots of time from drug administration up to the end of seizure
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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