Sedative agents have traditionally been administered orally to children. However, characteristics of oral sedation drugs, such as unpredictable depth and duration of sedation resulting from variable drug absorption and prolonged duration of drug effect, have resulted in both high failure and complication rates. Recently, intravenous (IV) anesthetic drugs with more accurately titratable and predictable characteristics have gained popularity for a variety of sedation procedures. Propofol is the most commonly used intravenous agent for these procedures in North America.