Propofol Sedation

PROBLEM: Using propofol (DIPRIVAN) to sedate patients during endoscopic and other diagnostic procedures is gaining momentum in a growing number of hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, and physician offices.1 In trained hands, propofol offers many advantages over other drugs used for sedation because it: Has a rapid onset (about 40 seconds) and a short duration of action Allows patients to wake up, recover, and return to baseline activities and diet sooner than some other sedation agents Reduces the need for opioids, thus resulting in less nausea and vomiting.2 Trained nurses in most critical care settings often administer propofol safely to patients who are intubated and ventilated. However, some practitioners have been lulled into a false sense of security, allowing the drug’s good safety profile to influence their beliefs that propofol is safer than it really is. In untrained hands, propofol can be dangerous, even deadly; administration to a nonventilated patient by a practitioner who is not trained in theuse of drugs that can cause deep sedation and...