Combined sedation with midazolam/propofol for gastrointestinal endoscopy in elderly patients

• Main Authors: Schlief Hans-Eugen, Hardt Christian, Kerker Astrid, Dumoulin Franz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2010-01-01
• Series: BMC Gastroenterology
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-230X/10/11

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although gastrointestinal endoscopy with sedation is increasingly performed in elderly patients, data on combined sedation with midazolam/propofol are very limited for this age group.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively analyzed 454 endoscopic procedures in 347 hospitalized patients ≥ 70 years who had received combined sedation with midazolam/propofol. 513 endoscopic procedures in 397 hospitalized patients < 70 years during the observation period served as controls. Characteristics of endoscopic procedures, co-morbidity, complications and mortality were compared.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Elderly patients had a higher level of co-morbidity and needed lower mean propofol doses for sedation. We observed no major complication and no difference in the number of minor complications. The procedure-associated mortality was 0%; the 28-day mortality was significantly higher in the elderly (2.9% vs. 1.0%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study on elderly patients with high level co-morbidity, a favourable safety profile was observed for a combined sedation with midazolam/propofol with a higher sensitivity to propofol in the elderly.</p>