Complications Following Colonoscopy With Anesthesia Assistance

Abstract

Colonoscopy is currently one of the recommended screening modalities for the prevention of colorectal cancer.^1,2 Colonoscopy procedures traditionally have been performed with conscious sedation, which involves the administration of a benzodiazepine and a narcotic. However, within the past decade, there has been increasing use of propofol, a sedative agent with no analgesic properties. Although a precedent exists for both nonanesthesiologist administration of propofol and nurse-administered propofol sedation,^3,4 because of its narrow therapeutic window with the potential for apnea, propofol typically has been administered by anesthesiology personnel.