Age-specific sleep deprivation guidelines

The need for age-specific guidelines for sleep deprivation has become evident in light of recent issues regarding the use of chloral hydrate in the electroneurodiagnostic (END) laboratory. Our combined professional experience indicated that sleep deprivation used together with smaller doses of chloral hydrate was an effective method of obtaining sleep for diagnostic procedures. The use of a sedative medication becomes even less of an issue when natural sleep can be obtained. In order to provide a uniform parental approach to preparing children for electroencephalography, we felt that age-specific guidelines for sleep deprivation needed to be established. Guidelines were created and used in this study with special regard to age-specific needs. In most children, sleep was obtained during the examination without the use of sedation when guidelines were followed.