Procedural Sedation in the Emergency Department: Prospective Data Collection

Emergency Department Procedural Sedation is performed many times each day in Emergency Departments around the country. It is becoming an increasingly important skill in the practice of Emergency Medicine. It allows the performance of procedures (including reduction of fractures and dislocations, suturing of wounds, draining of abscesses etc) which in the absence of sedation would be painful and distressing for patients and or technically more difficult or impossible for Doctors. This sedation is increasingly valuable in health systems which demand more efficient use of resources. Effective, safe procedural sedation offers this by saving operating theatres (which are resource intensive) for more complicated procedures. This study aims to add to the current knowledge base by ongoing data collection on procedural sedation done in the Emergency Department. The actual procedural sedation for the patients in the study period will not be influenced by this study. This study will simply document techniques and outcomes of sedation which is done in the normal practice of Emergency Medicine at our Hospital. Complications of the sedation and the procedure will be recorded.