Table 1.

General characteristics of included studies.

Author	Age (y)	ASA	Type of surgery	DEX dose	MDZ dose	Route/timing of DEX	Route/timing of MDZ	Sedation/anxiety scores
Akin, 2012	2–9	I	ADT	1.0 µg/kg	0.2 mg/kg	Intranasal 45–60 min	Intranasal 45–60 min	Modified observer’s assessment
Arora, 2014	1–4	I–II	Urogenital surgery	4.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Oral 60 min	Oral 30 min	4-point scale
Faritus, 2015	2–12	I–II	On-pump heart surgery	2.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Oral 45 min	Oral 45 min	Ramsay
Ghali, 2011	4–12	I–II	ADT	1.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Intranasal 60 min	Oral 30 min	MOAA/S mYPAS
Hosokaw, 2010	1/12–12	I–II	Cardiac surgery	0.6 µg/kg per h	0.5 mg/kg	Intranasal 30 min	Intranasal 30 min	Ramsay
Mountain, 2011	1–6	I–II	Dental surgery	4.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Oral 45 min	Oral 45 min	4-point scale
Ozcengiz, 2011	3–9	I–II	Oesophageal dilatation	2.5 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Oral 45 min	Oral 45 min	Emergence agitation
Pant, 2014	1–12	I–II	Inguinal hernia repair, orchidopexy, circumcision	1.5 µg/kg	0.25 mg/kg	Intranasal >45 min	Intranasal >20 min	MOAA/S
Savla, 2013	1–6	I–II	Short elective surgery	2.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Oral 30 min	Intranasal 30 min	Ramsay
Schmidt, 2007	7–12	I-II	Ambulatory surgery	1.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Oral 45 min	Oral 30 min	STAIC STAI
Sheta, 2013	3–6	I–II	Dental surgery	1.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Intranasal 45–60 min	Intranasal 45–60 min	4-point scale
Yuen, 2008	2–12	I–II	Minor surgery	0.5 or 1.0 µg/kg	0.5 mg/kg	Oral 30 min	Oral 30 min	MOAA/S

ASA, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status; DEX, dexmedetomidine; MDZ, midazolam; ADT, adenotonsillectomy; MOAA/S, modified from the observer assessment of alertness and sedation scale; mYPAS, modified Yale preoperative anxiety scale; STAIC, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children; STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults.