Non-Anesthetist–Administered Propofol During Endoscopy

Non-anesthetists now administer propofol during endoscopies at some centers in the U.S., Switzerland, Japan, and other countries. Although the safety record has been outstanding, the traditional protocol for staffing these procedures has been intensive, with one nurse sedating and monitoring the patient, while another assists with technical aspects of the procedure.

To determine whether endoscopy procedures using non-anesthetist–administered propofol can be performed safely with fewer staff, investigators reviewed data from 27,061 endoscopic procedures in Switzerland (14,856 upper endoscopies and 12,205 colonoscopies). A single endoscopy nurse sedated and monitored each patient while also assisting with the procedure; monitoring consisted of…