"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."

Developed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists; approved by the ASA House of Delegates October 13, 1999