Definition
ChEBI: Midazolam hydrochloride is the hydrochloride salt of midazolam. It has a role as an anticonvulsant, an antineoplastic agent, an anxiolytic drug, an apoptosis inducer, a central nervous system depressant, a GABAA receptor agonist, a general anaesthetic, a muscle relaxant and a sedative. It is an imidazobenzodiazepine and a hydrochloride. It contains a midazolam.
Veterinary Drugs and Treatments
In veterinary patients, midazolam is used principally as a premedicant
for general anesthesia. Alone, it does not appear to provide
predictable sedation in animals. Animals may become sedated or
dysphoric and excited. Cats may be more prone to develop the “excited”
effect more than dogs. When used in combination with other
drugs (i.e., opioids or ketamine), midazolam does provide more
predictable sedation.
Midazolam may also be of benefit to treat status epilepticus
when given either IV or IM (not rectally).
In humans, midazolam has been suggested for use as a premedicant
before surgery, and as a conscious sedative when combined
with potent analgesic/anesthetic drugs (e.g., ketamine or fentanyl).
In humans, midazolam reduces the incidences of “dreamlike”
emergence reactions and increases in blood pressure and cardiac
rate caused by ketamine.
When compared to the thiobarbiturate induction agents (e.g.,
thiamylal, thiopental), midazolam has less cardiopulmonary depressant
effects, is water-soluble, can be mixed with several other
agents, and does not tend to accumulate in the body after repeated
doses.
