Early History and Pioneers of Procedural Sedation and Analgesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31907/2310-9394.2019.07.1Keywords:
Procedural, analgesia, conscious sedation, minimal sedation, anxiolysis, dissociative, deep sedation, intravenous, correcting historical errors, scientific.Abstract
I present a brief early history of Procedural Sedation and Analgesia (PSA). I have highlighted the crucial milestones in the journey prior to the eventual progression to modern PSA as well as naming the outstanding pioneers who originally opened the field. I show how the seminal work started with the discovery of the anaesthetic and analgesic actions of nitrous oxide and progressed via nitrous oxide to intravenous conscious sedation and minimal sedation with nitrous oxide. Although the discovery and true pioneers of both anaesthesia and later PSA (Procedural sedation and analgesia) were dentists, physicians wrongly attribute both these discoveries to their own profession. I have emphasized the misconceptions regarding the actual pioneers of PSA, mainly because of incorrect and often selective citations and misinterpretations. These errors have led to confusion and have obfuscated the early history of PSA. They have also distorted scientific priorities and therefore the scientific record. The paper is an attempt to remove and correct such distortions and present the true record in the light of the verifiable historical facts.
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