Patients' Experiences of Patient-Controlled Sedation: An Interview Study of Patients who Underwent Endoscopy

Patient-controlled sedation (PCS) allows patients to self-administer sedative drugs during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). There is a paucity of research on the experiences of patients who used PCS. Therefore the purpose of this study was to describe the perioperative experiences of patients who used PCS during ERCP.

Prospective study using semi-structured interviews.

Qualitative content analysis facilitated a latent understanding of the manifest content.

Eleven interviews revealed three main themes and underlying categories that summarized the patient experience: participation (control and perioperative sedation); communication (personnel, information, safety, insecurity, and concern); and sensation (effects and side effects).

The participatory experience of PCS resulted not from the opportunity for patient involvement but, rather, the establishment of a patient-professional relationship. Specifically, the interactions between patients and health care professionals played a vital role in the patients' overall experience of PCS.