Paediatric Procedural Sedation

Children are required to fast for 8 hours before each procedure and receive no premedication. A trained nurse provides age-appropriate psychological preparation, including therapeutic play and distraction, before each procedure. Children under 6 years are excluded from the trial because validated observational tools for assessing psychotomimetic profiles in pre-verbal children are not yet available. Fear and distressed behaviour are reported in 17–27% of children with leukaemia undergoing repeated deep sedation. Children with haematologic malignancies require repeated invasive diagnostic and treatment procedures, primarily bone marrow aspirates and lumbar punctures.