Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Oct;5(4):395-410.
doi: 10.4103/1658-354X.87270.

Procedural sedation: A review of sedative agents, monitoring, and management of complications

Joseph D Tobias  1 , Marc Leder
Affiliations

Procedural sedation: A review of sedative agents, monitoring, and management of complications

Joseph D Tobias et al. Saudi J Anaesth. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Given the continued increase in the complexity of invasive and noninvasive procedures, healthcare practitioners are faced with a larger number of patients requiring procedural sedation. Effective sedation and analgesia during procedures not only provides relief of suffering, but also frequently facilitates the successful and timely completion of the procedure. However, any of the agents used for sedation and/or analgesia may result in adverse effects. These adverse effects most often affect upper airway patency, ventilatory function or the cardiovascular system. This manuscript reviews the pharmacology of the most commonly used agents for sedation and outlines their primary effects on respiratory and cardiovascular function. Suggested guidelines for the avoidance of adverse effects through appropriate pre-sedation evaluation, early identification of changes in respiratory and cardiovascular function, and their treatment are outlined.

Keywords: Dexmedetomidine; ketamine; procedural sedation; propofol; respiratory depression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

References

    1. Malviya S, Voepel-Lewis T, Tait AR. Adverse events and risk factors associated with the sedation of children by non-anesthesiologists. Anesth Analg. 1997;85:1207–13. - PubMed
    1. Hertzog JH, Campbell JK, Dalton HJ, Hauser GJ. Propofol anesthesia for invasive procedures in ambulatory and hospitalized children: Experience in the pediatric intensive care unit. Pediatrics. 1999;103:e30. - PubMed
    1. Pomeranz ES, Chudnofsky CR, Deegan TJ, Lozon MM, Mitchiner JC, Weber JE. Rectal methohexital sedation for computed tomography imaging of stable pediatric emergency department patients. Pediatrics. 2000;105:1110–4. - PubMed
    1. Litman RS. Conscious sedation with remifentanil and midazolam during brief painful procedures in children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:1085–8. - PubMed
    1. Satoh M, Minami M. Molecular pharmacology of the opioid receptors. Pharmacol Ther. 1995;68:343–64. - PubMed