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Analgesic and sedative agents used in the intensive care unit: A review
Author(s) -
Panahi Yunes,
Dehcheshmeh Hamid Sadeghi,
Mojtahedzadeh Mojtaba,
JoneidiJafari Nosratollah,
Johnston Thomas P.,
Sahebkar Amirhossein
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.27141
Subject(s) - sedative , analgesic , medicine , discontinuation , intensive care medicine , intensive care unit , anesthesia , drug , pharmacology , surgery
Pain is a common experience for most patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). In the current study, the advantages and disadvantages of analgesic and sedative drugs used in the ICU are reviewed. An ideal sedative and analgesic agent should have features such as rapid onset of action, rapid recovery after discontinuation, predictability, minimal accumulation of the agent and metabolites in the body, and lack of toxicity. None of the sedative and analgesic agents have all of these desired characteristics; nevertheless, clinicians must be familiar with these classes of drugs to optimize pharmacotherapy and ensure as few side‐effects as possible for ICU patients.