Monitored Anesthesia Care and Sedation/Analgesia Outside the Operating Room

ABSTRACT

In the modern era of medical practice, monitored anesthesia care (MAC) or sedation/analgesia in remote locations outside of the operating room has become a necessity, while working in a different environment poses additional challenge to the anesthesiologists. MAC minimizes anxiety, pain and discomfort during procedures or surgery under local anesthesia, resulting in improvement of patient's satisfaction and cooperation. Since complications associated with sedation are not rare, MAC or sedation/analgesia should be performed under appropriate circumstances and only when adequate resuscitative equipment and well-trained personnel are available. Anesthesia and procedural sedation outside of the operating room continue to show rapid growth, therefore, practical guidelines for sedation/analgesia are needed to improve quality of care and to provide a high level of patient safety and comfort.