Abstract
For critically ill, ventilated patients, protocol-based, light sedation is gaining more and more popularity to minimize the adverse effects of sedatives. A substantial body of clinical data shows that the use of sedation protocols with daily sedation interruption reduces ventilator days and length of ICU stay, along with a potential improvement of long-term survival rates. To maintain a minimum level of sedation, the initial step is to identify and treat any possible causes of patient discomfort including pain, anxiety, and delirium. Of these factors, pain is always the main target. In this review, the concepts, background, validity, clinical regimens, and adverse effects of analgesia-based sedation are discussed.
