Tag Archives: Royal College of Anaesthetists

Safe combined intravenous opiate/benzodiazepine sedation for transoesophageal echocardiography Dear Sirs The recent article by Manika et al.1 regarding sedation for transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) recommends a national agreed strategy for TEE sedation that incorporates both an opiate and a benzodiazepine. The survey data presented show only 6% of the UK hospitals questioned the use of opioids in combination with midazolam, perhaps with good reason. Bailey et al.2 investigated the effects of midazolam and the opiate fentanyl in volunteers. When midazolam alone was used, no significant respiratory effects were seen. Fentanyl alone prod