Evaluation of Ketamine/Midazolam Deep Sedation vs. Fentanyl/Midazolam Moderate Sedation for Image-Guided Percutaneous Procedures in Interventional Radiology

Overview

This study aims to reduce pain during interventional radiology (IR) procedures, making the experience better for patients. Typically, doctors use medications like fentanyl and midazolam for sedation. This research will focus on patients undergoing biopsies and drainage procedures, often associated with significant discomfort. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either fentanyl/midazolam or ketamine/midazolam combinations for sedation. A coordinator will collect information on pain levels and satisfaction, as well as monitor any extra medications needed and side effects. The investigators hope to find that ketamine helps decrease pain and improves satisfaction compared to fentanyl, without increasing complications.

This project will provide the following major innovations: 1. Improve patient experience and satisfaction: Prospective demonstration that ketamine/midazolam results in decreased peri-procedure pain scores and increased satisfaction scores would justify the use of deep sedation in IR and potentially benefit thousands of patients undergoing painful procedures in IR units across the country. 2. Demonstrate the safety and feasibility of ketamine/midazolam sedation administered by IR providers: Showing that performing IR procedures with ketamine/midazolam is as safe or safer than performing the same procedures with fentanyl/midazolam will increase the scope of cases that IR providers can perform without the direct assistance of anesthesia providers and need for recovery in post-anesthesia care units. 3. Provide high level data to justify creation of societal guidelines: One barrier to IR physicians performing deep sedation may be an inability to obtain hospital privileges. Emergency medicine physicians have created societal guidelines to describe the use of deep sedation, enabling successful credentialing. Publishing high quality studies showing safety and efficacy would provide a framework for IR-specific practice guidelines. The aims of the study are as follows: Aim 1: Prospectively compare pain and satisfaction scores in patients undergoing IR procedures with either fentanyl/midazolam or ketamine/midazolam. Patients undergoing image-guided biopsy and drainage procedures will be randomized to receive fentanyl/midazolam or ketamine/midazolam. Patients' pain will be rated using the validated 10-point Numeric Rating Scale before, during and after the procedure, and be given questionnaires based on validated anesthesia satisfaction surveys after the procedure to assess their perception of the sedation regimen. Patient groups will be compared in terms of differences on pain scores and the satisfaction survey using two-tailed Mann-Whitney tests. Aim 2: Prospectively compare the safety of using fentanyl/midazolam or ketamine/midazolam for sedation during IR procedures. Patient groups will be compared in terms of procedure-related adverse events (e.g., hemorrhage, pneumothorax) and sedation-related adverse events (e.g., respiratory compromise) using Fisher's exact tests.