Cambridge Journals Online

Guidelines

Guidelines for sedation and/or analgesia by non-anaesthesiology doctors

SECTION and BOARD OF ANAESTHESIOLOGY¹, European Union of Medical Specialists

J. T. A. Knapea1 c1*, H. Adriaensena2*, H. van Akena3*, W. P. Blunniea4*, C. Carlssona5*, M. Duponta6* and T. Pascha7* a1 University Medical Center Utrecht, Division of Perioperative Care and Emergency Care, Department of Anaesthesiology, The Netherlands a2 Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen, Department of Anesthesiology, Wilrijkstraat, Edegem, Belgium a3 Westfälische Wilhelms Universität, Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Albert Schweitzer-strasze, Münster, Germany a4 Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Division of Anaesthesia, Eccles Street, Dublin, Ireland a5 University Hospital MAS Anesthesi-kliniken, Department of Anaesthesiology, Ingång, Malmö, Sweden a6 Hôpital St Joseph, Service de Reanimation, Boulevard de Louvain, Marseille, France a7 Universitäts Spital Zürich, Institut für Anästhesiologie, Rämistrasse, Zürich, Switzerland

Article author query knape jt   adriaensen h   aken hv   blunnie wp   carlsson c   dupont m   pasch t

Summary

The still ever increasing demand for sedation and/or analgesia for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures puts high pressure on anaesthesia care providers all over Europe. Since the capacity to provide that service by anaesthetists is limited in most European countries, guidelines for non-anaesthetist doctors who want to sedate patients on a high-quality level and especially in a safe way are mandatory. This paper, produced by a working party of the European Board of Anaesthesiology of the European Union of Medical Specialists (EUMS/UEMS), gives direction to those practitioners who feel responsibilities in this area of medicine. Close cooperation with anaesthesiologists seems mandatory to achieve and sustain a high-quality standard for our patients undergoing medical or surgical procedures under sedation.

(Accepted February 07 2007)

Correspondence:

^c1 Correspondence to: Johannes T. A. Knape, Department of Anaesthesiology, Division of Perioperative Care and Emergency Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail: j.t.a.knape@umcutrecht.nl; Tel: +31302509677; Fax: +31302541828

Footnotes

¹ The areas of expertise of anaesthesiology are Perioperative Anaesthesia Care, Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine, Pain Medicine and Reanimation.

* Working Party on Sedation by non-anaesthesiology doctors