Justification of flumazenil in a tertiary oral surgery centre

Title: Justification of flumazenil in a tertiary oral surgery centre

Abstract:

Benzodiazepine medications are the principal sedative for conscious dental sedation. Flumazenil is a mandatory medication in the provision of conscious sedation for the reversal of the effects of benzodiazepine medication. The indications for the use of Flumazenil are 'for the reversal of the effects of benzodiazepines.' It is expected that no more than 1% of sedations require flumazenil intervention. In this audit we looked at the justifications and implementation of flumazenil at King's College Hospital Dental Institute to assess the use of flumazenil in the sedation service for King’s College Hospital Oral Surgery Department. Data was collected from October 2024-October 2025 from the department flumazenil logbook and EPIC. Data were reviewed the use and justification of flumazenil. We found that justifications for the use of flumazenil are vague and further definition may be helpful when prescribing this medication. We have made changed to the Flumazenil template to help record the justification. We have created a template to help with record consistency and improve records across the dental institute.

Biography:

Ben works in the Oral Surgery department at King’s College Hospital. He has completed a year of training in oral and maxilla-facial surgery and is currently a clinical fellow in oral and maxilla-facial surgery at the Northwest London Major Trauma Centre. In addition to dentistry, Ben also has experience as a Senior Lecturer/Lecturer in Anatomy at St George’s University/Kingston University Joint faculty for 5 years. He has taught at six different universities across the UK and Australia. Ben is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh.