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Review
. 2019 Oct;50(4):1047-1054.
doi: 10.1002/jmri.26703. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Techniques for minimizing sedation in pediatric MRI

Su-Zhen Dong  1   2 , Ming Zhu  1 , Dorothy Bulas  2
Affiliations
Review

Techniques for minimizing sedation in pediatric MRI

Su-Zhen Dong et al. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

MRI is used widely in infants and young children. However, in these young cases deep sedation or general anesthesia is often required to minimize motion artifacts during MRI examinations. Although the benefits of MR typically outweigh the potential risks of sedation when delivered by an experienced team, there are increasing concerns regarding the affect of sedation on young children. There continues to be a push to develop various strategies that can minimize the need for sedation. The present review summarizes several technical and clinical approaches that can help decrease the need for sedation in the pediatric patient. Optimization of the MRI environment, the role of child life specialists, feed-and-bundle and distraction techniques, noise-reduction methods, artificial intelligence, and MRI advances to decrease both scan times and motion artifacts will be discussed. Level of Evidence: 5 Technical Efficacy Stage: 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019.

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