Similarity between two active strategies cannot establish how either compares with no added drug.
The tonsil/adenoid trial compared single-dose remimazolam with dexmedetomidine near the end of sevoflurane anesthesia. Emergence-delirium incidence did not clearly differ. Dexmedetomidine lowered heart rate more, while several recovery and satisfaction measures were similar.
No saline group was included. The single-center sample and one dose per strategy limit conclusions, and statistical nonsignificance is not proof of equivalence. Procedure and analgesic context remain part of the comparison.
Identify the missing reference before claiming that both agents prevented delirium. The trial cannot establish either absolute preventive benefit from an active-versus-active result alone. Individual agitation or recovery still requires pain, airway, timing and the complete medication sequence rather than inference from a group comparison.
Source: PMC12450552, supplied full-text paper. Findings are paraphrased; forensic implications are an interpretation.
Related: Intranasal Remimazolam Dose-Finding Defined Success With a Pediatric Sedation Scale.