Objective:Bispectral index monitorisation (BIS) is used to determine sleep depth. Although chloral hydrate is a potent sedative / hypnotic agent, side effects restricts its use. Melatonin is a physiological sleep inducer used in children.

The primary purpose of this study is; to ivestigate the relation of BIS values scores  and sleep-EEG stages. Secondary purpose of this study; is to compare the efficacy of chloral hydrate and melatonin used for sleep-EEG.

Method: Simultaneous Sleep-EEG and BIS monitoring recordings of 86 children in Ege University Medical Faculty pediatric neuro-physiology laboratory were retrospectively analyzed. Demographics, drugs used for sleep induction, sleeping time, duration of EEG recording, BIS scores, sleep-EEG stages and serious drug side effects were recorded.

Results: BIS scores  values were associated with sleep-EEG stages independent of other factors. There was no significant difference between chloralhydrate and melatonin groups in terms of sleeping time, duration of EEG recording and depth of sleep. In terms of BIS values, it was observed that  sleep provided by chloralhydrate was deeper than that of melatonin. It could be the reason of  the side effects observed the use of  chloral hydrate. No significant difference was found in the chloralhydrate and melatonin groups in terms of providing sleep induction. No Objective serious side effects in both groups were not observed. .

Conclusion: BIS monitoring can be used to determine sleep stages in children. Melatonin is an effective and reliable alternative to chloral hydrate in use of sleep induction for EEG recordings.