Memory effects of sedative drugs in children and adolescents—protocol for a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Some sedatives used in children and adolescents can affect memory function. Memory impairment of traumatic experience can minimize the chance of future psychological trauma. Knowledge about the potential of different sedatives to produce amnesia can help in the decision-making process of choosing a sedative regimen. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effect of different sedatives on memory of perioperative events in children and adolescents. METHODS/DESIGN: Electronic databases and other sources, such as trial registers, gray literature, and conference abstracts will be searched. Randomized controlled trials will be included that assess memory of perioperative events in children and adolescents 2–19 years old receiving sedative drugs as premedication or as agents for procedural sedation in a medical or dental settings. The outcomes will be loss of memory after and before sedative administration (anterograde and retrograde amnesia). Two independent reviewers will perform screening, study selection, and data extraction. Disagreement at all levels will be resolved by consensus or by involving a third reviewer. Assessment of the risk of bias of included studies will be performed according to “Cochrane Collaboration’s Tool for Assessing Risk of Bias in Randomized Trials.” Clinical and methodological heterogeneity across studies will be evaluated to determine if it is possible to combine or not combine study results in a meta-analysis. DISCUSSION: To the best of our knowledge, there is no systematic review that specifically addresses this question. Findings from the review will be useful in the decision-making process about the best sedative for minimizing recall of the medical/dental event and possible psychological trauma. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42015017559 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0192-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.