Do Research Prioritization Exercises Reduce Research Waste?*

Abstract

pediatric patients with RSE? Midazolam has been reported to be effective for the treatment of RSE in pediatric patients, and the retrospective nature of the study by Daniels et al (11) reaffirms this in routine clinical use, not just in the setting of prospective trials or meta-analyses. However, it is the single-center retrospective nature, lack of midazolam bolus dosing, and limited knowledge surrounding the administration of first-and second-line antiseizure therapies for many of the patients that limits the scope of impact regarding the author's quantitative results. There is still significant work to be done to define the following: 1) the best way to titrate midazolam to achieve the shortest time to seizure cessation, including knowing when to move on to another anesthetic agent; 2) determining the contribution of the total medication exposure to the diminished cognitive outcomes post SE; and 3) defining patient and disease-related risk factors for midazolam failure in RSE. Although the results presented by Daniels et al ( 11) may be limited in scope, the study provides important insight, both positive and negative, that will be crucial to consider in the design of a future multicenter trial assessing the most effective use of midazolam to treat pediatric RSE.