Procedural Sedation Clinical Pathway — Emergency Department
Procedural Sedation Clinical Pathway — Emergency Department
NPO Status
- Pulmonary aspiration is a rare but serious complication of anesthesia and sedation.
- The medications most frequently used by ED physicians and the desired depth of sedation (moderate to deep sedation) make pulmonary aspiration a rare occurrence in ED sedation procedural sedation.
- The incidence of pulmonary aspiration is influenced by the types of medication used, the depth of sedation, known difficult airway, history of conditions predisposing to gastroesophageal reflux, higher ASA PS Classification, and extremes of age.
- The ED Attending will determine the need for an appropriate NPO time for each patient, taking into account the patient’s past medical history, the urgency of the procedure, the choice of medications, and the timing and nature of last oral intake.