The sedative regimen must be tailored to the individual patient, necessitating a multimodal and multidisciplinary approach and does not simply involve the use of drugs.
Indications for the use of sedative drugs in the ICU include:
- to alleviate pain
- to facilitate the use of an otherwise distressing treatment and minimise discomfort (eg tolerance of endotracheal tubes and ventilation)
- to augment the effectiveness of a treatment (eg inverse ratio ventilation)
- as a treatment in its own right (eg seizure control or management of intracranial pressure)
- to reduce anxiety
- to control agitation
- for amnesia during neuromuscular blockade.
This document is not meant to be a rigid framework but provides information around which clinicians may build their own sedation protocols. It is intended for all groups of ICU patients, including specific patient groups such as those with neurological injury, burns, cardiac and liver conditions.
