SUMMARYFifty patients who underwent diagnostic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy after midazolam sedation were randomized to receive (after completion of the examination) either the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil or an identical‐looking placebo. The speed of recovery from sedation was assessed by reaction time testing, measurement of critical flicker fusion frequency, and the semi‐quantitative SOCA scoring system. Measurements were made up to 6 h post examination in all subjects, and at 12 and 24 h in all in‐patients (n= 20). Flumazenil‐treated patients were significantly more alert than those who received placebo at 10 min, 30 min, 1 h and 2 h (P<0.001 in all instances). Thereafter the two groups were similar. There was no evidence of recurrence of sedation in flumazenil‐treated patients, nor did this drug adversely affect the period of anterograde amnesia between the administration of midazolam and f