Fospropofol

Intravenous anesthetic agents are mainly used for induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. Drugs such as thiopental, methohexital, etomidate, ketamine, and propofol are mainly used for induction of anesthesia as they have quick onset of action.[1] Recovery is also sufficiently rapid with most intravenous (IV) drugs to permit their use for short ambulatory surgical procedures.[1] Since more preference nowadays is being given to outpatient surgery, the trend is shifting from general anesthesia to monitored anesthesia care (MAC).[2] Many diagnostic and minor therapeutic surgical procedures can be performed without general anesthesia using sedation-based techniques. A wide variety of IV anesthetic agents have proved to be useful in these techniques such as diazepam, midazolam, and propofol.[1] Fospropofol disodium is the recently approved agent for MAC by FDA in December 2008. [3] It is a water-soluble prodrug of propofol.[4] According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), MAC is a planned procedure during which the patient undergoes local anesthesia together with sedation and analgesia.[5] It allows for the safe administration of a maximal depth of sedation in an excess of that provided during moderate sedation.[6] Moderate sedation (also known as conscious sedation) as defined by the ASA requires that the patient should be arousable to verbal commands or light tactile stimulation. Patent airways, as well as stable cardiac and respiratory functions are maintained throughout the period