Comparison of diazepam with midazolam as I.V. sedation for outpatient gastroscopy

Abstract

We studied 26 patients in a double-blind investigation to compare psychomotor and cognitive recovery for 30 h after sedation for day-case gastroscopy with i.v. diazepam 0.15 mg kg-1 or midazolam 0.07 mg kg-1. Significantly more patients reported side effects at 7, 10 and 30 h post-gastroscopy after diazepam than after midazolam (P < 0.05). Compared with baseline, the midazolam group was significantly impaired in critical flicker fusion threshold, reaction time, dexterity and visualization tasks up to 4 h after administration (P < 0.05). There was a significant association between midazolam and amnesia for the procedure (P < 0.001). © 1989 British Journal of Anaesthesia.