Use of Modafi nil for Shortening the Recovery Period of Patients Subjected to Conscious Sedation.

ABSTRACT

Conscious sedation is a safe and effective technique for patients subjected to invasive diagnostic procedures or minor surgeries. One of the most common seen side effects of this procedure involves Drowsiness, which may be so severe that the patient is not able and advised to resume his normal day to day activities up to 24 h post procedure. This amount of time in recovery is discomforting to the patient and thus should be reduced to a bare minimum following analgesic action of the sedatives. The mechanisms of action of all major classes of sedatives follow a common route via stimulation of gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) receptors along with depression in the release of dopamine, which controls locomotor activity. Modafi nil leads to increase in extracellular and synaptic concentrations of dopamine, elevates hypothalamic histamine levels and also causes activation of glutamatergic circuits, while inhibiting GABAergic neurotransmission. The objective of this short communication was to search for a universal agent to facilitate the recovery post conscious sedation and to determine the role of Modafi nil for the same. At the end, we hypothesized that modafi nil can act as a reliable universal drug to shorten the recovery period of patients subjected to procedural anesthesia.