Results 423 attendants completed the survey (response rate: 66%) of which 342 ICU nurses were included for further analysis. These are employed in general (73%) or university hospitals (27%) and are working in mixed (66%), surgical (18%) or medical (13%) ICUs. Short working agents are most frequently chosen for analgo-sedation. A majority of respondents administer sedatives in continuous infusi...

This study evaluated the correlation and agreement between the Bispectral Index (BIS) or A-line Autoregressive Index (AAI) and a clinical scoring system, the Ramsay Sedation Scale (RSS), in 40 patients after elective cardiac surgery and admission to the intensive care unit. All patients received sedation with propofol according to the study protocol. BIS, AAI and RSS were documented at two diff...

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to characterize the practices of Brazilian ICU physicians toward sedation and delirium. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of critical care physicians between April and June 2008. RESULTS One thousand fifteen critical care physicians responded. Sedation scoring systems were used by 893 (88.3%) of the respo...

OBJECTIVE This study examines subjects' level of consciousness with bispectral analysis in sedation endoscopy of the upper airway. STUDY DESIGN A prospective study. SETTING University hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Bispectral analysis levels recorded in natural sleep of 43 patients with obstructive sleep apnea during an overnight polysomnographic sleep study were directly compared with th...

BACKGROUND Despite the fact that almost all critically ill children experience some degree of pain or anxiety, there is a lack of high-quality evidence to inform preferred approaches to sedation, analgesia, and comfort measures in this environment. We conducted this survey to better understand current comfort and sedation practices among Canadian pediatric intensivists. METHODS The survey was...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the rate of adverse respiratory events and vomiting among ED patients undergoing procedural sedation with propofol. METHODS This was a prospective, observational series of patients undergoing procedural sedation. Titrated i.v. propofol was administered via protocol. Fasting status was recorded. RESULTS Four hundred patients undergoing sedation were enrolled. Of these ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of patient-controlled sedation for elective day-case colonoscopy, and the factors predicting patients' unwillingness to use patient-controlled sedation for colonoscopy. DESIGN Prospective, non-randomised study. SETTING University-affiliated endoscopy centre, Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS Five hundred patients who underwent elective ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Neuroendovascular procedures are performed with the patient under conscious sedation (local anesthesia) in varying numbers of patients in different institutions, though the risk of unplanned conversion to general anesthesia is poorly characterized. Our aim was to ascertain the rate of failure of conscious sedation in patients undergoing neuroendovascular procedures and co...

BACKGROUND Endoscopic treatment of early neoplastic lesions in oesophagus has evolved as a valid and less invasive alternative to surgical resection. These endoscopic interventions are minimal invasive treatment options usually done with sedation on an outpatient basis. The aim of this trial is to determine the safety and effectiveness of dexmedetomidine sedation compared to the standard used p...

In 1998, Thomas L. Petty expressed his concern about deep sedation and suggested a new link between sedation and severe complications.(1) His phrasing emphasized that it is not the underlying disease, but the physicians themselves that cause the gloomy situation he experienced in his intensive care unit (ICU). As more evidence supporting his theory has emerged, Petty’s editorial seems even more...