Background:The number of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures done outside the operating room has increased dramatically in recent years. Despite local anaesthesia, reassurance and distraction techniques (young) children are often unable to undergo these procedures without being physically restrained.

Objective:To compare the cardiac effects (heart rate) and respiratory effects (respiratory rate and saturation) of Dexmedetomidine in comparison to Propofol+Midazolam in children undergoing MRI.

Materials and methods:A prospective, randomized, single blinded comparative study between two anaesthetic agents in a teaching hospital. A sample size of 30 patients in each group, as calculated from the power of previous studies was taken, setting a significance level of P = 0.05, it was calculated that a group of 30 patients allowed the power of the study to be 95 %.Group “P”: Patients receiving Midazolam+Propofol combination. Group “D”: Patients receiving Dexmedetomidine alone

Results :Both groups showed statistically significant fall in heart rate, respiratory rate and SpO2 at and after 15 min as compared to the baseline values (P value=0.001,P value significant if <0.05).

Conclusion:Dexmedetomidine is a newer drug with fewer side effects and has potential to become a suitable alternative for Propofol+Midazolam combination in children undergoing MRI