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Managing sedation in critically ill children
1Department of Anesthesiology, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich., USA.
Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing : DCCN
|January 20, 2000
Insights
Sedating critically ill children requires careful assessment to differentiate causes of agitation. This paper presents an algorithm to guide nurses in assessing sedation needs and managing critically ill pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
- Nursing Practice
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Sedating critically ill children is complex, demanding accurate differentiation of agitation causes.
- Nurses must identify pain, fear, or hypoxia contributing to agitation.
Abstract:
Sedating critically ill children presents a challenge for even the most experienced critical care nurse. The nurse must differentiate agitation caused by pain, fear, hypoxia, or other factors and take appropriate action. This paper discusses using an algorithm to assess agitation and sedation needs and presents management options for sedation.