A procedural sedation quality improvement audit form tool for interventional radiology

Abstract

As the number of interventional radiology (IR) procedures performed in the United States increases, so does the need for procedural sedation (PS) performed outside the operating room. PS is not without risk, and without the use of proper guidelines and adequate training, adverse outcomes can occur. Improved oversight and evaluation of PS practice are necessary. This concept paper presents a method to incorporate a quality improvement tool in the IR suite that can be implemented at any healthcare center. This tool was created by radiologists, anesthesiologists, and nurses performing PS and evaluates preprocedural, intraprocedural, and postprocedural steps related to effectiveness of sedation, safety practices, and communication. It was implemented in the IR suite at a large tertiary care hospital. The goal of this study is to show that the tool is practical and easily implementable in any tertiary center and can be used as a quality measure to assess outcomes of PS.