Alabama Administrative Code
Title 540 - ALABAMA BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS
Chapter 540-X-10 - OFFICE-BASED SURGERY
Section 540-X-10-.02 - Definitions - Levels Of Anesthesia

(1) Local Anesthesia. The administration of an agent which produces a localized and reversible loss of sensation in a circumscribed portion of the body.

(2) Minimal Sedation (anxiolysis). A drug-induced state during which patients respond normally to verbal commands. Although cognitive function and coordination may be impaired, ventilatory and cardiovascular functions are unaffected.

(3) Moderate Sedation/Analgesia ("Conscious Sedation"). A drug-induced depression of consciousness during which a patient responds purposefully to verbal commands, either alone or accompanied by light tactile stimulation. Reflex withdrawal from painful stimulation is NOT considered a purposeful response. No interventions are required to maintain a patent airway, and spontaneous ventilation is adequate. Cardiovascular function is usually maintained.

(4) Deep Sedation/Analgesia. A drug-induced depression of consciousness during which patients cannot be easily aroused but respond purposefully following repeated or painful stimulation. Reflex withdrawal from painful stimulation is NOT considered a purposeful response. The ability to independently maintain ventilatory function may be impaired. Patients may require assistance in maintaining a patent airway, and spontaneous ventilation may be inadequate. Cardiovascular function is usually maintained.

(5) General Anesthesia. A drug-induced loss of consciousness during which patients are not arousable, even by painful stimulation. The ability to independently maintain ventilatory function is often impaired. Patients often require assistance in maintaining a patent airway, and positive pressure ventilation may be required because of depressed spontaneous ventilation or drug-induced depression of neuromuscular function. Cardiovascular function may be impaired.

(6) Regional Anesthesia ("Major conduction blockade") is considered in the same category as General Anesthesia.5

(7) Because sedation is a continuum, it is not always possible to predict how an individual patient will respond. Hence, practitioners intending to produce a given level of sedation should be able to rescue patients whose level of sedation becomes deeper than initially intended. Individuals administering Moderate Sedation/Analgesia ("Conscious Sedation") should be able to rescue patients who enter a state of Deep Sedation/Analgesia, while those administering Deep Sedation/Analgesia should be able to rescue patients who enter a state of general anesthesia.

Authors: Alabama Board of Medical Examiners ad hoc Committee: Arthur F. Toole, III, M.D.; Jorge A. Alsip, M.D.; James G. Chambers, III, M.D.; Craig H. Christopher, M.D.; Alcus Ray Hudson, M.D.; Pamela D. Varner, M.D.; James E. West, M.D.; and Task Force Sub-Committee: Jeff Plagenhoef, M.D.; Eric Crum, M.D.; Dan J. Coyle, Jr., M.D.; Gary Monheit, M.D.; Robert Hurlbutt, IV, M.D.; C. Paul Perry, M.D.; W. Guinn Paulk, M.D.; Mark McIlwain, D.M.D., M.D.; Jerald Clanton, D.M.D., M.D.; Patrick J. Budny, M.D.; James W. Northington, M.D.; David Franco, M.D.; Thomas E. Moody, M.D.