Procedural sedation in the emergency department by Dutch emergency physicians: a prospective multicentre observational study of 1711 adults.

Objective: To describe our experience performing ED procedural sedation in a country where emergency medicine (EM) is a relatively new specialty.

Methods: This is a prospective observational study of adult patients undergoing procedural sedation by emergency physicians (EPs) or EM residents in eight hospitals in the Netherlands. Data were collected on a standardised form, including patient characteristics, sedative and analgesic used, procedural success, adverse events (classified according to World SIVA) and rescue interventions.