Anesthesia for ambulatory diagnostic and therapeutic radiology procedures

The radiology suite presents the anesthesia provider with a unique set of challenges such as ionizing radiation, intravascular contrast, magnetic fields, physical separation and barriers from the patient, so-called borrowed space, and the large range of procedures performed. Most of these procedures will continue to be performed without the presence of an anesthesia team but, because of the ever-increasing complexity of the procedures being performed and the increasing comorbidities of patients, the anesthesia provider will likely be called more often to provide care. A thorough understanding of these challenges is essential to providing a safe anesthetic in a difficult environment.