Interestingly, recent Japanese experience suggests that it may be safe for patients to drive home after sedation for endoscopic procedures although doses used in that study were relatively small—most patients only received 40 mg of propofol Anti-infection Compound Library mw as monotherapy.72 Patients should be advised to avoid signing legal documents and should be accompanied by a responsible adult at the time of discharge. A number of new drugs have been developed that may be useful for endoscopic sedation. A water soluble prodrug of propofol, fospropopofol,73 which has a lower peak yet a more sustained plasma level is being trialed. Dexmedetomidine is

a new, reversible alpha agonist, associated with less respiratory depression than other sedative agents. Preliminary data suggest that it is just as safe as and possibly more efficacious than midazolam in the endoscopic setting in terms of side-effects and that it ranks highly for patient and endoscopist

satisfaction.74 A number of different delivery systems have also been developed. These include patient-controlled sedation,75 target-controlled infusions,76 where drugs are delivered according to computer-generated selleck chemicals llc pharmacokinetic models, and computer-assisted personalized sedation (CAPS),77 where propofol dosing is adjusted by a computer according to continuous physiologic monitoring. Data on the use of these approaches are preliminary. There is no doubt that, worldwide, the ground is shifting in terms of who should administer propofol-based sedation for gastrointestinal endoscopy. Nurse-administered propofol (NAPS) is becoming a popular option in the USA and Switzerland, and NAPS use is likely to expand. The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists have recognized that propofol may be safely

administered by non-anesthetists and in conjunction with the Gastroenterological Society of Australia and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons this tripartite group has promulgated an important set of guidelines for its safe administration3 (ref PS9). The document emphasizes the need for adequate training, certification and credentialing in sedation 上海皓元 by non-anesthetists. The guidelines accept that in patients with ASA grades I–III, propofol may be safely administered by a medical practitioner, who is neither an anesthetist nor the endoscopist doing the procedure, and the tripartite group are in the process of establishing a suitable training program for endoscopists involving the use of didactic lectures, small group discussions, anesthetic simulators and observation sessions in units already using propofol in this way. We thank the other members of the Australian Tripartite Endoscopy Sedation Committee—Professor B. Baker (chair), Drs Kate Leslie, Tracey Tay, Tony Eyers, Jon Gani, Philip Craig and Michael Bourke. 1 Although endoscopy without intravenous sedation is not recommended as a routine practice, it is a viable option in selected patients.