Abstract:Objective To compare the clinical effects of remimazolam and sevoflurane in pediatric adenotonsillectomy performed as day surgery under general anesthesia.Methods A total of 150 children who underwent day-case tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy in our hospital from July 2023 to June 2025 were enrolled and randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 75) and a control group (n = 75). The experimental group received anesthesia maintenance with remimazolam, while the control group received anesthesia maintenance with sevoflurane. The two groups were compared in terms of anesthesia-related indicators, hemodynamic parameters [systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), and peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) at pre-anesthesia (T0), intubation (T1), 5 min after intubation (T2), 10 min after surgery (T3), and extubation (T4) ], delirium status [Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale (PAED) score], pain status [Modified Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (m-CHEOPS) ], parental satisfaction, and adverse events (respiratory depression, airway obstruction, hypotension, nausea and vomiting, pain, coughing).Results The recovery time of spontaneous respiration, awakening time, and extubation time were all shorter in the experimental group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Differences in SBP, DBP, HR, and SpO2 at various time points were statistically significant (P < 0.05). At T1 and T4, SBP, DBP, and HR were lower in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05), while SpO2 showed no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). The overall trends in SBP, DBP, and HR differed significantly between groups (P < 0.05), but the trends in SpO2 did not (P > 0.05). Differences in PAED and m-CHEOPS scores at various time points were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The experimental group had lower PAED scores at 5, 10, and 20 minutes after extubation and upon discharge from the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) than the control group (P < 0.05), while m-CHEOPS scores showed no significant difference between groups (P > 0.05). The trends in PAED scores differed significantly between groups (P < 0.05), but the trends in m-CHEOPS scores did not (P > 0.05). Parental satisfaction was higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The overall incidence of adverse reactions did not differ significantly between the two groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion The use of remimazolam for general anesthesia in pediatric tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy day surgery can accelerate the recovery of spontaneous respiration and shorten extubation time, maintain hemodynamic stability, reduce the incidence of emergence delirium, and achieve high parental satisfaction. The analgesic efficacy of remimazolam is comparable to that of sevoflurane, with no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions.