Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25569095›Full record

ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2015

Analgesic, anxiolytic and anaesthetic effects of melatonin: new potential uses in pediatrics.

Lucia Marseglia, Gabriella D'Angelo, Sara Manti, Salvatore Aversa, Teresa Arrigo, Russel J Reiter, Eloisa Gitto

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
5.0field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Oral melatonin vs nitrous oxide inhalation for paediatric dental sedation: a randomised controlled ELISA-based study.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2026
    Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Poorer sleep quality predicts melatonin response in patients with traumatic brain injury: findings from a randomized controlled trial.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2021
    Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Peculiarities of melatonin levels in preterm infants.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2024
    Article
  17. Article
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  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Lucia MarsegliaNeonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, Messina 98125, Italy. lmarseglia@unime.it.
Gabriella D'AngeloNeonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, Messina 98125, Italy. gabridangelo@alice.it.
Sara MantiUnit of Paediatric Genetics and Immunology, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria 1, Messina 98125, Italy. saramanti@hotmail.it.
Salvatore AversaNeonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, Messina 98125, Italy. aversalvo@hotmail.com.
Teresa ArrigoUnit of Paediatric Genetics and Immunology, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria 1, Messina 98125, Italy. tarrigo@unime.it.
Russel J ReiterDepartment of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 40729, USA. reiter@uthscsa.edu.
Eloisa GittoNeonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, Messina 98125, Italy. egitto@unime.it.
University of Messina · ITThe University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Exogenous melatonin is used in a number of situations, first and foremost in the treatment of sleep disorders and jet leg. However, the hypnotic, antinociceptive, and anticonvulsant properties of melatonin endow this neurohormone with the profile of a drug that modulates effects of anesthetic agents, supporting its potential use at different stages during anesthetic procedures, in both adults and children. In light of these properties, melatonin has been administered to children undergoing diagnostic procedures requiring sedation or general anesthesia, such as magnetic resonance imaging, auditory brainstem response tests and electroencephalogram. Controversial data support the use of melatonin as anxiolytic and antinociceptive agents in pediatric patients undergoing surgery. The aim of this review was to evaluate available evidence relating to efficacy and safety of melatonin as an analgesic and as a sedative agent in children. Melatonin and its analogs may have a role in antinociceptive therapies and as an alternative to midazolam in premedication of adults and children, although its effectiveness is still controversial and available data are clearly incomplete.

Indexed as

AnalgesicsAnesthetics, GeneralAnti-Anxiety AgentsAnxiety DisordersBrain DiseasesChildElectroencephalographygamma-Aminobutyric AcidHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMelatoninPainAnalgesicsAnesthetics, GeneralAnti-Anxiety Agentsgamma-Aminobutyric AcidMelatonin

Identifiers

PMID25569095
PMCPMC4307299
OpenAlexW2046210995

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.