Glossopharyngeal nerve block for esophagogastroduodenoscopy in critically ill patients

Abstract

Deep sedation during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) may not be well tolerated by critically ill patients. Glossopharyngeal nerve (GPN) block provides reliable pharyngeal anesthesia and can significantly reduce sedation requirements for these procedures. We report our successful experience with GPN block as the sole or main source of anesthesia for EGD in a series of nine critically ill patients.