Clonidine in paediatrics - a review.

Clonidine, an alpha-2 agonist is a known antihypertensive agent. Because of its sedative and analgesic effects, it is gaining popularity in anaesthesiology. It can be used to premedicate children, as an adjuvant to regional and general anaesthesia and it has several other applications in paediatric anaesthesia. It has also found use in the paediatric intensive care as a sedative, analgesic and to ensure haemodynamic stability. As in the case of any other anaesthetic drug, its use has to be vigilantly monitored.