Topical Pharyngeal Anesthesia in Sedated Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

At recent, the number of patients who underwent sedated esophagogastroduodenoscopy has been on the increase. For such patients, whether topical pharyngeal anesthesia is needed remains to be controversial. European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, European Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Nurses and Associates, and the European Society of Anaesthesiology Guideline for non-anesthesiologist administration of propofol for GI endoscopy have not made any recommendation, because the role of pharyngeal anesthesia during propofol sedation for upper digestive endoscopy has not been assessed. Our study aimed at investigating whether topical lidocaine pharyngeal anesthesia could benefit patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy under propofol sedation.