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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Autism
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1462526
This article is part of the Research Topic Innovative and Cutting-edge Approaches to the Identification and Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders View all 3 articles

Intranasal Dexmedetomidine sedation for EEG in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Provisionally accepted
Arianna De Laurentis Arianna De Laurentis 1Chiara Pastori Chiara Pastori 2*Carmela Pinto Carmela Pinto 3Stefano D'Arrigo Stefano D'Arrigo 1Margherita Estienne Margherita Estienne 1Sara Bulgheroni Sara Bulgheroni 1Giulia Battaglia Giulia Battaglia 2Marco Gemma Marco Gemma 3
  • 1 Department of Pediatric Neuroscience, IRCCS Carlo Besta Neurological Institute Foundation, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
  • 2 Epilepsy Unit, Carlo Besta Neurological Institute (IRCCS), Milan, Lombardy, Italy
  • 3 Neuroanesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Carlo Besta Neurological Institute Foundation, Milan, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of In-Dex sedation in comparison to oral melatonin and hydroxyzine in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) undergoing EEG recording and determine which categories of patients exhibit the most favorable response to In-Dex sedation.This retrospective observational study involved pediatric patients with ASD who underwent sleep-EEG recording across two periods, before (biennium 2018-19) and after (biennium 2021-22) the routine implementation of In-Dex sedation. Clinical, EEG, and sedation data were stored in a database. A logistic multiple regression model was employed, with the failure of EEG serving as the dependent variable.As concerning results, in this first period 203 EEGs were performed with a rate of failure of 10.8%, while in the second one 177 EEGs were recorded with a percentage of failure of 7.3% (8.3% with MH sedation and 5.8% with In-Dex sedation). No significant adverse events were reported in either period. Multivariate logistic analysis demonstrated that In-Dex decreased the probability of failure (OR=0.25, (0.61-0.88)), while the presence of behavioral disturbances (OR=3.65 ((1.54-8.85)) and the use of antipsychotic drugs (OR=2.76, (1.09-6.95)) increased it.In the light of these results, we can state that In-Dex sedation is safe and reduce EEG failure rate compared to the use of melatonin and hydroxyzine alone, particularly in patients with severe behavioral issues.

    Keywords: Autism1, EEG2, sedation3, dexmedetomidine4, behavioral disturbance5

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 De Laurentis, Pastori, Pinto, D'Arrigo, Estienne, Bulgheroni, Battaglia and Gemma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Chiara Pastori, Epilepsy Unit, Carlo Besta Neurological Institute (IRCCS), Milan, 20133, Lombardy, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.