Bulletin of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery
ISSN 1829-006X
2025; 344–351
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ORAL GABAPENTIN AND LORAZEPAM AS PREMEDICATION IN PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA: A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY

Riswandi*, Kohar Santoso, Lucky Andriyanto, Budi Utomo, Muhammad Faruk, Emil Munawar

Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia · Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, IndonesiaDepartment of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Dr. Zainoel Abidin General Academic Hospital, Banda Aceh, Indonesia · Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia · Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia · 5 Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Hasanuddin-Universitas Hasanuddin Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia · Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Dr. Zainoel Abidin General Academic Hospital, Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Received: 2026-04-08 · Published: 2025-06-30

© 2025 The Author(s) and the original publisher.

CC BY-NC 4.0 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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Original title
ORAL GABAPENTIN AND LORAZEPAM AS PREMEDICATION IN PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA: A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE STUDY
Authors
Riswandi, Kohar Santoso, Lucky Andriyanto, Budi Utomo, Muhammad Faruk, Emil Munawar
Source journal
Bulletin of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery
Published
2025-06-30
Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Original
https://doi.org/10.58240/1829006X-2025.21.5-344

Abstract

Background: Preoperative anxiety in children can affect anesthetic induction, physiological stability, and postoperative outcomes. Lorazepam is a widely used benzodiazepine for anxiolysis, while gabapentin, although not commonly used in children, has shown potential anxiolytic effects. Methods: This double-blind randomized controlled trial included 64 children aged 2–6 years who underwent elective procedures under general anesthesia. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either oral gabapentin (15 mg/kg) or lorazepam (0.025 mg/kg). Preoperative anxiety was assessed using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale– Short Form (mYPAS-SF), while secondary outcomes included sedation, measured by the Ramsay Sedation Scale (RSS), and parental separation, assessed using the Parental Separation Anxiety Scale (PSAS). Results: No significant reduction in anxiety scores was observed in either group (gabapentin: p = 0.29; lorazepam: p = 0.76). Optimal sedation occurred in 75% of lorazepam and 56.2% of gabapentin recipients. Inadequate separation and higher rescue sedation needs were more frequent in the gabapentin group. No moderate-to-severe adverse events were reported within 24 hours post-administration. Conclusion: Neither drug significantly reduced preoperative anxiety scores, however, both demonstrated potential as part of pediatric premedication strategies. Gabapentin remains a promising alternative as premedication, particularly in specific clinical settings.
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