Effects of premedication with oral hydroxyzine on patient motion during inhalation of 32% xenon for regional cerebral blood flow mapping

Because of its anesthetic properties, inhalation of 30-35% Xenon is associated with uncontrolled patient motion in 3-15% of the cases. This constitutes a major setback to regional cerebral blood flow studies with Xenon-enhanced computed tomography (Xe-CT CBF). The present study attempted to determine the effects of oral premedication with hydroxyzine (H) in the control of motion. Patients scheduled for Xe-CT CBF, aged 20-55 years, were randomly allocated to 3 groups: H 50 mg (n=41), H 100 mg (n=36) or Placebo (n=43). The drugs were administered orally 90 minutes before Xenon inhalation. This consisted a gas mixture of 32% Xe and 25% oxygen. Motion was classified as controlled or uncontrolled depending on whether CBF data acquisition was possible or not. Anxiolysis and sedation were evaluated by a visual analogue scale. Motion was significantly reduced in the H 50 mg (0.8% vs 2.5% in the H 100 mg and 6.7% in the Placebo group). An anxiolytic effect of hydroxyzine was suggested. (author)