What is the significance of sedation in mechanical ventilation and how are it's complications prevented?
Sedation has been used as a common practice in mechanically ventilated for a long period of time but over the period of time the practice of sedating a mechanically ventilated has greatly changed. Initially deep sedation was used in these patients but it was revealed that deep sedation was associated with delirium and distress, so the approached was changed and lighter sedation was adopted. This resulted in much better outcomes like shorter period of ventilated days and less stay in the hospital. It is also recommended to monitor sedation using Richmond Agitation-Sedation Score (RASS), a widely used scale. Patients are also treated with sedation holidays or sedation vacations in which the patient is completely put off the sedatives for a time period whenever possible to avoid adverse effects of sedatives and to keep the patient oriented.