Sedation is a vital tool for allowing investigations and procedures to be performed without full anaesthesia, but demand for sedation greatly outstrips the supply of trained anaesthetists

Preface. Sedation for procedures, treatments and investigations: a general introduction. Training in sedation. Patient assessment and selection. Principles of safety in sedation. Drugs in sedation practice. Medico-legal aspects of sedation. Sedation in paediatric practice. Sedation and the elderly. Sedation in community dental practice. Sedation for radiological procedures. Sedation in critical care. Sedation in palliative care. Sedation for miscellaneous procedures.