PHARMACOLOGY OF EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PAIN MANAGEMENT AND CONSCIOUS SEDATION

Procedural sedation is commonly practiced by emergency physicians to facilitate patient care in the emergency department (ED). Although various guidelines have modernized our approach to procedural sedation, many procedural sedation guidelines and practices still often require that patients be discharged into the care of a responsible adult.

Such requirement for discharge often cannot be met by underserved and undomiciled patients. Benzodiazepines, opioids, propofol, ketamine, “ketofol,” etomidate, and methohexital have all been utilized for procedural sedation in the ED. For patients who may require discharge without the presence of an accompanying responsible adult, ketamine, propofol, methohexital, “ketofol,” and etomidate are ideal agents for procedural sedation given rapid onsets, short durations of action, and rapid recovery times in patients without renal or hepatic impairment. Proper pre- and postprocedure protocols should be utilized when performing procedural sedation to ensure patient safety. Through the use of appropriate medications and observation protocols, patients can safely be discharged 2 to 4 h postprocedure.

There is no pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic basis to require discharge in the care of a responsible adult after procedural sedation. Thoughtful medication selection and the use of evidence-based pre- and postprocedure protocols in the ED can help circumvent this requirement, which likely disproportionally impacts patients who are of low socioeconomic status or undomiciled.

Propofol is an effective agent for use in procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA). Most ED studies have used a bolus-dosed protocol. We evaluated the efficacy, complication rate, and satisfaction among caregivers and patients while using an infusion-dosed protocol of propofol for PSA in our ED.

A prospective, observational study was performed in our academic ED. Propofol use was at the discretion of the ordering physician and dosed by predetermined infusion protocol. Variables measured included adverse events, times of sedation, procedure, and recovery. Patient and provider satisfaction were measured using a 10-cm visual analog scale.

Fifty patients were enrolled over 18 months. Procedures were varied, and all were successfully completed. The mean propofol dose was 174 mg (SD = 164 mg). Average times to sedation (4.6 minutes, SD = 2.6 minutes) and recovery (8.2 minutes, SD = 5.8 minutes) were short. Complications included 8 patients with respiratory depression and 6 with hypotension, all easily reversible. Satisfaction scores were uniformly high. Only 34% of patients had any memory of the procedure, and 94% would agree to use it again if necessary.

Infusion-dosed propofol is effective for ED PSA. Total doses, effectiveness, satisfaction rates, and complications of infusion-dosed propofol are comparable to findings from studies using bolus-dosed protocols.