Premedication in the United States: a status report. Anesth Analg 1997 Feb;84(2):427-32
Date
02/01/1997Pubmed ID
9024042DOI
10.1097/00000539-199702000-00035Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0031050955 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 185 CitationsAbstract
We undertook a mailing survey study to assess the current practice of sedative premedication in anesthesia. A total of 5396 questionnaires were mailed to randomly selected physician members of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Forty-six percent (n = 2421) of those sampled returned the questionnaire after two mailings. The reported rate of sedative premedication in the United States varied widely among age groups and geographical locations. Premedicant sedative drugs were least often used with children younger than age 3 years and most often used with adults less than 65 years of age (25% vs 75%, P = 0.001). Midazolam was the most frequently used premedicant both in adults and children (> 75%). When analyzed based on geographical locations, use of sedative premedicants among adults was least frequent in the Northeast region and most frequent in the Southeast region (50% vs 90%, P = 0.001). When the frequency of premedication was examined against health maintenance organization (HMO) penetration (i.e., HMO enrollment by total population) in the various geographical regions, correlation coefficients (r) ranged from -0.96 to -0.54. Multivariable analysis revealed that HMO penetration is an independent predictor for the use of premedication in adults and children. The marked variation among geographical areas in premedicant usage patterns underscores the lack of consensus among anesthesiologists about the need for premedication. The data suggest that HMO participation may affect delivery of this component of anesthetic care.
Author List
Kain ZN, Mayes LC, Bell C, Weisman S, Hofstadter MB, Rimar SAuthor
Steven J. Weisman MD Professor in the Anesthesiology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Aged
Anesthesiology
Child
Child, Preschool
Data Collection
Female
Health Maintenance Organizations
Humans
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Preanesthetic Medication
United States