The effects of mexazolam as a premedication

A comparative study with diazepam and placebo, using the double blind method

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mexazolam when used as a premedication for oral administration. Patients (ASA I-II) were given elective oral surgery under general anesthesia or intravenous sedation, and mexazolam was used in a double blind test with diazepam and an inert placebo.
Psychoneurological symptoms such as anxiety, sleeplessness and so on, were determined by questionnaires, and physical symptoms such as blood pressure, pulse rate and respiratory rate, were checked.
Doses were administered to the 4 groups as follows : 2 or 3 mg to the mexazolam group and 10 mg to the diazepam and placebo group. These doses were administered at 9 o'clock the night before the operation and again 2.5 h prior to induction. Those patients scheduled for afternoon operations were also given doses 6.5 h before induction. The results were as follows
1) In the doses administered, the sedative effects of mexazolam were the same as those of diazepam.
2) The administered dosage of mexazolam tended to have a longer lasting effect than diazepam.
3) The patients to whom mexazolam was administered showed no significant changes in physical symptoms.
4) A dose of 3 mg of mexazolam as a premedication was shown to be more effective than 2 mg.
These results suggested that mexazolam could be used effectively as a premedication.