Johns Hopkins Children’s Center’s Pediatric Sedation Service ensures that pediatric patients from infancy through young adulthood can receive the scan, test or procedure they need with the highest level of comfort while avoiding general anesthesia or the operating room.

Staffed by doctors specializing in pediatric intensive care medicine and nurses with expertise in surgery recovery, the Pediatric Sedation Service is committed to using current best practices in a patient- and family-centered environment.

Our goals for pediatric sedation:

• Ensure your child is safe both during and after the procedure.
• Minimize anxiety and pain.
• Keep your child still and comfortable for tests that require no movement to achieve the highest quality.
• Make sure families are engaged in the pediatric sedation process.

Preparing for Sedation Services

Undergoing medical tests and procedures can be stressful for you and your child, but our goal is to make this experience as comfortable, safe and positive as possible. It is also important that you remain calm and supportive throughout — your comfort helps your child feel safe.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare for your child’s sedation service:

• Your visit will likely last about three to four hours, including check-in, preparation, the procedure and recovery.
• Plan to arrive to the fourth floor of The Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center building 90 minutes before the scheduled procedure, unless instructed differently by a member of the sedation team.
• If your child is having an inpatient procedure, the care team will coordinate their transport to the sedation space. You will be encouraged to accompany them.
• Your child will need to have an empty stomach. This includes no breast milk for four hours, no infant formula for six hours and no solid food for eight hours.
• Most children will need an intravenous line (IV) inserted into a vein before the procedure so we can safely give medications for sedation and pain control. We use numbing cream, local anesthetics and distraction techniques — like games, breathing exercises or videos — to make IV placement as easy and comfortable as possible.
• Under moderate-to-deep sedation, patients continue breathing on their own. The physician and nurse will focus on your child’s vital signs, ensuring their oxygen levels, heart rate and blood pressure are appropriate.
• After the procedure, your child will wake up in their recovery room and continue to be monitored by our team.
• When your child is ready, we will go over instructions for caring for your child at home and answer any final questions. 

Thank you for trusting us to care for your child!