Overview Sedation and analgesia are an integral component of appropriate patient management for numerous diagnostic and therapeutic procedures across various medical subspecialties. A clear understanding of the sedation continuum, as well as proper patient evaluation and selection, are critical. Appropriate pre-procedure preparation, together with availability of adequate skilled personnel and emergency equipment, are crucial to a successful sedation practice. Meeting the recommended standards for intra-procedure monitoring, and a thorough knowledge of clinical pharmacology with judicious drug titration, facilitates safe provision of sedation/analgesia. While there is ongoing controversy regarding use of propofol by non-anesthesiologists, addition of capnographic monitoring is being broadly encouraged by most specialty organizations to improve the safety profile of procedural sedation and analgesia. Administrative considerations should include meticulous credentialing and granting of sedation privileges to licensed practitioners, appropriate informed consent and detailed documentation of sedation procedures, and an ongoing practice performance evaluation with regular comprehensive sedation training/workshops. Newer technologies such as target-controlled infusion devices and computer-assisted personalized sedation systems are demonstrating their potential for improving the quality of sedation while enhancing patient safety.
J%20Surg%20Rad%20Volume%202%20-%20October%202011%20A01.pdf
