how long does the effect of midazolam last
Midazolam Midazolam, marketed under the trade name Versed, among others, is a medication used for anesthesia, procedural sedation, trouble sleeping, and severe agitation.[3] It works by inducing sleepiness, decreasing anxiety, and causing a loss of ability to create new memories.[3] It is also useful for the treatment of seizures.[5] Midazolam can be given by mouth, intravenously, or injection into a muscle, by spraying into the nose, or through the cheek.[3][5] When given intravenously, it typically begins working within five minutes; when injected into a muscle, it can take fifteen minutes to begin working.[3] Effects last for between one and six hours.[3]
Twilight anesthesia The same drugs used in general anesthesia are also used for twilight anesthesia, except in smaller doses and in a bolus interval (A concentrated mass of a substance administered intravenously for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). These drugs can be administered via gases, such as nitrous oxide (laughing gas), or intravenously, with drugs such as ketamine (pediatrics primarily, and infrequently in adults), propofol, and midazolam.[3] Twilight anesthesia alone is not used to provide relief from surgical pain, therefore, it is always given in conjunction with a local or regional anesthetic. Additionally, IV sedation is frequently administered as a concoction of several agents including those previously mentioned for induction and maintenance of anesthesia, as well as a benzodiazepine (usually midazolam, but temazepam or flunitrazepam are also used via the oral route[4]) and a narcotic/systemic analgesic such as demerol or fentanyl. As discussed in the levels of sedation by anesthesia, assistance with breathing tubes (ETT or LMA) are not generally used for this type of anesthesia.