Factors associated with failure to successfully complete a procedure during emergency department sedation

Abstract

Objective: To determine factors associated with failure to successfully complete a procedure during sedation in the ED. Methods: Eleven Australian EDs enrolled consecutive adult and paediatric patients between January 2006 and December 2008. Patients were included if a sedative drug was administered for an ED procedure and the success or failure of the procedure was recorded. Results: Data were available for 2567 patients. Of these, 1548 (60.3%, 95% CI 58.4-62.2) were male and 456 (17.8%, 95% CI 16.3-19.3) were age <16years. The most common procedures performed were reduction of major joints and laceration repair. A total of 149 procedures (5.8%, 95% CI 5.0-6.8) failed. There were significan..