Procedural sedation in the emergency department by Italian emergency physicians: results of the SEED SIMEU registry

Background and importance: Effective and safe procedural sedation is pivotal for the quality of care in the emergency department (ED).

Objectives: The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, and safety procedural sedation performed by emergency physicians in the ED setting in Italy.

Design/setting and participants/intervention: Following a specific training of the staff and with the adoption of a standardized protocol, a registry of procedural sedations performed on adult patients in 10 Italian EDs was compiled from 2019 to 2022; the following basic data were recorded: demographic and clinical information, procedure's indication, administered drugs, predefined, and actual sedation level.

Outcome measures and analysis: Effectiveness was evaluated considering three parameters: successful completion of the procedure, absence of procedural pain, and no memory of the procedure; adverse events were classified according to the World Society of Intravenous Anaesthesia criteria and evaluated taking into account clinical and procedural variables.

Main results: The study included 1349 patients (median age 68 years, male 64%). Sedation was performed for electrical cardioversion (66.3%), orthopedic procedures (23.2%), or other procedures (10.5%). Propofol (67%) and midazolam (24.2%) were the two most frequently used sedatives and 70.6% of the patients achieved a deep level of sedation.Procedural failure occurred in 4.6% of cases, with no significant differences between procedure types or drugs used. Recall of the procedure and procedural related pain were reported by 2.9% and 2.6% of patients, respectively, and were more frequently related to orthopedic procedures, midazolam use - if compared with propofol, and lower levels of sedation.A total of 135 adverse events were observed, with an overall incidence of 10%: 38 minimal adverse events (2.8%), 38 minor adverse events (2.8%), and 59 moderate adverse events (4.4%). There were no adverse events requiring unplanned hospital admission or escalation of care, and no sentinel adverse events were observed. All adverse events were resolved with simple and noninvasive treatments. The incidence of adverse events was greater with higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class, intermediate/difficult airway, and deeper sedation levels.

Conclusion: Procedural sedation performed in Italian EDs by emergency physicians, with propofol as main sedative, was effective and safe, and has comparable adverse event rates with previous international studies.