Chapter 5 - Patient monitoring, equipment, and intravenous fluids

Summary

Adequate patient monitoring is essential for successful and safe practice of sedation. Monitoring must be performed by a designated healthcare provider and should be performed during all phases of the procedure. Healthcare providers should be familiar with monitoring equipment and be able to interpret the data obtained from it. Monitoring for sedation procedures primarily involves the observation of blood pressure, oxygenation, respiratory function, electrocardiography (ECG) and capnography tracings. Although patients undergoing sedation are not exposed to potent inhalation agents used for general anesthesia, the importance of temperature monitoring should not be underestimated. Patients undergoing minor surgical procedures are generally exposed to the ambient environment. The maximum concentration of carbon dioxide is reached at the end of exhalation, and then identified as end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2). During sedation, the use of crystalloid solutions is generally recommended for the intravenous replacement of fluids.