Minidose midazolam anesthesia

Midazolam is a widely used drug which has anxiolytic, sedative-hypnotic, muscle relaxing, anticonvulsant action and strong anterograde amnesic effect. But misuse of large doses were reported. We determined the minimum effective dose of midazolam using nitrous oxide (75%) and pentazocine. Induction of anesthesia needed only 0.03-0.04 mg.kg-1 of midazolam. There were no patients who were awake during operation. Anterograde amnesic effect of midazolam was significantly correlated with age. Older patients should be given midazolam slowly and carefully. Dose of midazolam should be reevaluated for wider application of midazolam.