Unscheduled Procedural Sedation: A Multidisciplinary Consensus Practice Guideline

Reaffirmed January 2024

Originally approved September 28, 2018

The American College of Emergency Physicians organized a multidisciplinary effort to create a clinical practice guideline specific to unscheduled, time-sensitive procedural sedation, which differs in important ways from scheduled, elective procedural sedation. The purpose of this guideline is to serve as a resource for practitioners who perform unscheduled procedural sedation regardless of location or patient age. This document outlines the underlying background and rationale, and issues relating to staffing, practice, and quality improvement.