Anesthesia Innovations for Endoscopy of Gastrointestinal Tract

Gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) is a procedure for diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tract abnormalities. This procedure requires some forms of anesthe‐ sia. The goal of procedural anesthesia is safe, effective control of pain and anxiety, as well as an appropriate degree of memory loss or reduced awareness. Generally, the majority of GIE procedures are performed by using topical anesthesia and intravenous sedation. General anesthesia is carried out in long and invasive procedures such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic ultrasound, and small bowel enteroscopy, as well in patients with history of failed sedation or drug and substance abuse, uncooperative or pediatric patients, and patients with cardiorespir‐ atory system instabilities. The appropriate anesthetic agents for GIE procedures could be short acting, rapid onset with little adverse effects and also improved safety profiles. To date, the new anesthetic drugs and monitoring equipments for safety and efficacy are available. The present review focuses on pre-anesthetic assessment, anesthetic drugs used, monitoring practices, and post-anesthesia care for anesthesia innovations in GIE procedures.