Procedural sedation and analgesia

Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is a technique in which a sedating/dissociative medication is given, usually along with an analgesic medication, in order to perform non-surgical procedures on a patient. The overall goal is to induce a decreased level of consciousness while maintaining the patient's ability to breathe on their own. PSA is commonly used in the emergency department, in addition to the operating room. While PSA is considered safe and has low rates of complication,^[1] it is important to conduct a pre-procedural assessment, determine any contraindications to PSA, choose the most appropriate sedative agent, and monitor the patient for potential complications both during and after the procedure.