M. Brian Fennerty, MD, is the editor of Journal Watch Gastroenterology and Professor of Medicine and Section Chief of Gastroenterology in the Department of Internal Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.
Learn more about Gut Check on Gastroenterology.
(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5)I have observed extreme variation in how my colleagues manage GI foreign-body retrieval from the stomach. Some always use general anesthesia and endotracheal intubation; others (myself included) use conscious sedation. Some use an overtube to withdraw the object into if possible; others simply pull it up to the endoscope and use the endoscope to guide [...]
(No Ratings Yet)In a recent blog post, ID expert Paul Sax raised the question of which sedatives should be used when scoping HIV-infected patients on ritonavir or efavirenz. Both antiretrovirals inhibit the CYP3A enzyme, which metabolizes one of our most commonly used sedatives, midazolam. Use of midazolam with either antiretroviral is technically contraindicated because of significant increases [...]
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)This Saturday’s Wall Street Journal featured an intriguing article on sedation-free colonoscopy, which is standard in Europe and Asia but rarely done in the U.S. One could argue that Americans are just “weenies,” but I think the blame rests solely with us doctors. Sedation-free colonoscopy is successful in most who try it (I did!), but [...]
