Study	Reason for exclusion
Kawakami 1998	A randomised, controlled trial comparing intravenous lidocaine (1.5 mg/kg) vs intravenous midazolam (0.1 mg/kg) in addition to lidocaine for anaesthetic induction in 27 neonates undergoing surgery. We excluded this study because midazolam was given as a single bolus dose and was not used as a sedative.
McCarver‐May 1996	A randomised cross‐over trial comparing intravenous midazolam (0.2 mg/kg) vs oral chloral hydrate (75 mg/kg) for sedation during neuroimaging studies in 7 full‐term neonates. We excluded this study because midazolam was given as a single bolus dose.
Parkinson 1997	A randomised, controlled trial comparing oral chloral hydrate (25 mg/kg to 50 mg/kg) vs promethazine (0.5 mg/kg to 1.0 mg/kg) vs an intravenous midazolam infusion (50 microgram/kg/h to 300 microgram/kg/h) for sedation in critically ill children. We excluded this study because the population studied included children from 1 day to 15 years of age, and because we could not extract from the study data for neonates.