Patient-controlled sedation using propofol in day surgery.

Patient-controlled sedation using propofol was studied in 30 unselected patients aged 26-72 years undergoing day case general surgical or orthopaedic procedures under local or regional anaesthesia. Using a fixed propofol dose of 0.7 mg.kg-1 body weight, the technique provided anxiolysis and sedation with few side effects and a high degree of patient satisfaction. Increasing age was significantly correlated with a deeper maximum level of sedation (p less than 0.001), indicating a need for a lower bolus dose in the higher age groups. Interpatient variability in propofol requirement was reflected in the lack of significant correlation between propofol dose and procedure duration (p = 0.095) and patient age (p = 0.72).