Advanced Practice Provider Procedural Sedation Practice and Outcomes: A Report From the Pediatric Sedation Research...

The objective was to describe the current practice of pediatric procedural sedation outside the operating room (OR) by advanced practice providers using data from the Pediatric Sedation Research Consortium (PSRC).

Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected cases in which the responsible provider was an advanced practice provider (pediatric nurse practitioner or physican assistant), from April 27, 2020, to July 31, 2024. Descriptive statistics, adverse events, and interventions were reported.

A total of 3,795 (3.6%) cases met inclusion criteria. Median patient age was 6 years (interquartile range: 2, 11) and 49% were male. Ninety-five percent of cases were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status 1-2. The most common procedure was radiologic (24%). Most procedures took place in a sedation unit (76%). The most common sedative administered was midazolam (50%). Cases with any adverse events and any critical adverse events were infrequent, 3.3%, and 0.1%, respectively. 0.4% of cases were unable to be completed.

These data demonstrate low frequency of adverse events and discontinued procedures for advanced practice provider-administered sedations.