Outcomes of anesthesia-supported versus endoscopist-driven sedation modalities: a retrospective cohort study

The use of anesthesia has become commonplace in many procedural settings. The goal of this study is to compare sedation modalities used by endoscopists and anesthesiologists in the endoscopy suite, particularly with respect to recovery time and adverse events.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study including adults (≥18 years of age) undergoing outpatient EGD and/or colonoscopy at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida between October 1st, 2018 and December 31st, 2022. Cases were classified as using propofol only, propofol ± adjuvants (PA; including dexmedetomidine, ketamine, fentanyl, and midazolam), general anesthesia (GA) with endotracheal tube, or fentanyl/midazolam (FM) only. The primary outcome was length of stay (LOS) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), and secondary outcomes included the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), hypoxemia (Spo₂ risk 90%), bradycardia (heart rate <60 bpm), and escalation of care (hospital admission).

The analysis included 56,361 cases. Among patients who received FM sedation, the mean PACU LOS was 52.01, 49.68, and 53.24 minutes for EGD, colonoscopy, and combined procedures, respectively. This was significantly higher than the mean PACU LOS for GA (44.65, 41.41, and 41.92 minutes, respectively), for PA (32.35, 35.75, and 33.42 minutes, respectively), and for propofol (31.63, 32.61, and 33.29 minutes, respectively; P < .0001). Of patients receiving FM, 8.39% experienced bradycardia, 6.12% experienced hypoxia, 0.24% experienced PONV, and 0.05% were hospitalized. These were substantially lower than the rates for other sedation groups, and odds ratios were significantly lower than 1.00 (P < .05) in 30 of 36 comparisons across procedural, sedative, and outcome categories.

Sedation achieved with FM correlated with a lower rate of adverse events but a significantly longer PACU LOS compared with propofol, PA, or GA.