Endoscopy 2006; 38(9): 948
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-944727
Letters to the editor
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Reply to Dr. Cremers

Q.  Cai1
  • 1 Division of Digestive Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 September 2006 (online)

We are grateful to Dr. Cremers for his interest in our article. We routinely give patients conscious sedation for all endoscopic procedures, including endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), in our endoscopic suite. The medications that we use for conscious sedation are meperidine and midazolam. In addition, for some patients, promethazine may be used. All of these medications are administered intravenously before and during the procedure. For some patients who cannot be consciously sedated, we conduct the procedure with the patients under general anesthesia. The ERCP study only included patients with conscious sedation. I agree that the fatty meal may be retained in the gastric lumen longer than some other clear liquids. However, the volume of fatty meal we use is very small (about 9 ml in each patient). On the basis of our experience, it is safe to administer meals with these small volumes shortly before the procedure, as we have not encountered any aspiration problems.

Competing interests: None

Q. Cai, M. D.

Division of Digestive Diseases
Emory University School of Medicine

1365 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30322
USA

Fax: +1-404-778-2578

Email: qcai@emory.edu

    >