Recovery of driving ability after propofol-only sedation

Propofol is the trade name of the most commonly used intravenous general anaesthetic medication in Australia. This project will measure the level of impairment of driving skills after the administration of intravenous Propofol to a patient as part of an anaesthetic for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. Following informed consent, the patient’s ability to drive on a video-game style driving simulator will be measured immediately prior to their surgical procedure prior to any medications being administered. This will constitute the patient’s baseline driving skill level. The patient will then undergo their preplaned endoscopy procedure with propofol-only sedation. During the procedure, an extra cannula will be inserted in the opposite arm of the patient. After anaesthesia has been ceased, the patient's driving skill will be re-measured on the same simulator at regular intervals (30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours post cessation of anaesthesia). each simualtion will take approximately 10 minutes. Before each simulation, a blood sample will be taken from patients to determine the blood propofol concentration of the subjects.