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Sedation scales are used in medical situations in conjunction with a medical history in assessing the applicable degree of sedation in patients in order to avoid under-sedation (the patient risks experiencing pain or distress) and over-sedation (the patient risks side effects such as suppression of breathing, which might lead to death).
Obtaining a RASS score is the first step in administering the Confusion Assessment Method in the ICU (CAM-ICU), [4] a tool to detect delirium in intensive care unit patients. The RASS is one of many sedation scales used in medicine. Other scales include the Ramsay scale, the Sedation-Agitation-Scale, and the COMFORT scale for pediatric patients.
Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is a technique in which a sedating/dissociative medication is given, usually along with an analgesic medication, in order to perform non-surgical procedures on a patient. The overall goal is to induce a decreased level of consciousness while maintaining the patient's ability to breathe on their own.
ICU teams that master these protocols to keep patients as awake and mobile as possible are called "Awake and Walking ICUs". These are teams that only implement medically induced comas when the possible benefits of sedation outweigh the high risks during specific cases.
Patient and doctor describing state of consciousness similar to "twilight anesthesia" Twilight anesthesia is an anesthetic technique where a mild dose of sedation is applied to induce anxiolysis (anxiety relief), hypnosis, and anterograde amnesia (inability to form new memories). The patient is not unconscious, but sedated.
Dexmedetomidine can also be used for procedural sedation such as during colonoscopy. [18] It can be used as an adjunct with other sedatives like benzodiazepines, opioids, and propofol to enhance sedation and help maintain hemodynamic stability by decreasing the requirement of other sedatives.
Patients are admitted to the intensive care unit if their medical needs are greater than what the general hospital ward can provide. Indications for the ICU include blood pressure support for cardiovascular instability ( hypertension / hypotension ), sepsis , post-cardiac arrest syndrome or certain cardiac arrhythmias . [ 4 ]
Intensive care unit ICU patients often require mechanical ventilation if they have lost the ability to breathe normally.. An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine.