Efficacy and Safety of Sedation During Head Surgical Procedures

A survey was conducted of nurse anesthetists about the practice of conscious sedation for head surgery in a private clinical center. Seventy-eight patients were included from June 2017 to June 2018. Age, sex, medical history, ASA classification, previous sedation experience, level of anxiety, premedication use, amount and type of sedative used, surgical duration, sedation level, incidents, and recovery time were evaluated for all patients. The most significant characteristics were found when evaluating preoperative anxiety, preoperative information, and intraoperative respiratory rate. After data collection, 2 groups were distinguished: group 1: procedure completed without incident (n=57) and group 2: procedure completed with incidents (n=21). The patients' average age was 69.5 years. More than 40% of patients were classified as ASA 2. A total of 49 patients (62.3%) felt stressed or anxious preoperatively. More than 65% of all patients (n=51) did not know what conscious sedation was. Intraoperatively, the average sedation level was the same for all patients. Respiratory rates were not recorded for 12 patients (16%). Most of the complications were experienced by patients with a high level of preoperative anxiety and with a misunderstanding of the anesthetic technique.