Developments in procedural sedation for adults

Sedation is ubiquitous in clinical practice. A 2-day survey of six UK hospitals found that outside of operating theatres and ICUs, the most frequent locations where sedation was used were endoscopy, radiology and cardiology facilities and emergency departments (EDs).1 However, sedation is also delivered infrequently in many other environments. These minor locations may be a significant distance from the usual sources of help (emergency team, anaesthetists, intensive care), particularly in large hospitals sites.