Sec. 20-123a. Anesthesia and sedation: Definitions.
Sec. 20-123a. Anesthesia and sedation: Definitions. For purposes of this section
and section 20-123b:
(a) "Conscious sedation" means a drug-induced state in which the patient is calmed
and relaxed, capable of making rational responses to commands and has all protective
reflexes intact, including the ability to clear and maintain the patient's own airway in a
patent state, but does not include nitrous oxide sedation or the administration of a single
oral sedative or analgesic medication in a dose appropriate for the unsupervised treatment of insomnia, anxiety or pain that does not exceed the maximum recommended
therapeutic dose established by the federal Food and Drug Administration for unmonitored home use;
(b) "General anesthesia" means a controlled state of unconsciousness produced by
pharmacologic or nonpharmacologic methods, or a combination thereof, accompanied
by a partial or complete loss of protective reflexes including an inability to independently
maintain an airway and to respond purposefully to physical stimulation or verbal commands; and
(c) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Health.
(P.A. 85-251, S. 1; P.A. 87-589, S. 53, 87; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 07-252, S. 58.)
History: P.A. 87-589 amended Subsec. (a) by adding "or any orally administered sedation"; P.A. 93-381 replaced
commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A.
95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 07-252 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change and redefine
"conscious sedation" as excluding administration of a single oral sedative or analgesic medication in dose appropriate for
unsupervised treatment of certain conditions, effective July 1, 2007.