Procedural sedation in the obese patient

Abstract

Bariatric surgery is associated with complications that often require endoscopic evaluation and management. In addition to the physiologic and pharmacologic challenges of sedating the obese postoperative patient, such endoscopic procedures may entail increased procedure time, induction of physiologic surgical stress, and induction of pain. It can be difficult to predict which patients may have increased risk during procedural sedation; hence, experience with airway management, physiologic monitoring, and pharmacology in the obese patient is valuable. This chapter reviews safe practice and current standards for sedation of obese and bariatric patients.