Midazolam – pain, but one can't remember it: A survey among Southern German endoscopists

Background Benzodiazepines, especially midazolam, are the most frequently used agents for gastrointestinal endoscopy worldwide. Among other parameters the quality of sedation is determined by patients' satisfaction assessed after endoscopy. This approach is misleading as the potent amnestic effect of midazolam conceals troubles and pain actually suffered during the endoscopic procedure involving distraction of the endoscopists from their actual tasks by audible reactions and defence movements. In this study we eliminated the influence of patients' amnesia on the assessment of the quality of sedation and rather i…