Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
15:18
Making MR Imaging Child's Play - Pediatric Neuroimaging Protocol, Guidelines and Procedure
Published on: July 30, 2009
Consensus guidelines on sedation and analgesia in critically ill children
Stephen Playfor1, Ian Jenkins, Carolyne Boyles
1Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Hospital Road, M27 4HA, Manchester, UK. stephen.playfor@cmmc.nhs.uk
Intensive Care Medicine
|May 16, 2006
Summary
Paediatric Intensive Care Society developed consensus guidelines for sedation and analgesia in critically ill children. These guidelines address the lack of evidence-based practices in paediatric critical care, emphasizing the need for further research.
Area of Science:
- Critical Care Medicine
- Paediatric Intensive Care
- Clinical Practice Guidelines
Background:
- Sedation and analgesia are crucial in pediatric intensive care, yet specific guidelines for critically ill children were lacking.
- Existing adult guidelines are popular, highlighting a gap in pediatric critical care standards.
- A multi-disciplinary panel was formed to address this critical need.
Framework:
- A modified Delphi technique involving three anonymous rounds was employed.
- Consensus was achieved through four dedicated consensus conferences.
- A systematic literature review supported the developed recommendations.
Implementation:
- Twenty key recommendations were established, divided equally between analgesia and sedation.
- Guidelines focus on maintenance sedation and analgesia for critically ill children.
- The evidence base supporting these recommendations was evaluated.
Implications:
- Successfully produced multi-disciplinary consensus guidelines for pediatric sedation and analgesia.
- Highlighted a significant paucity of high-quality evidence in pediatric critical care.
- Emphasized the urgent need for future randomized clinical trials in this field.
Related Concept Videos
01:24General Anesthesia: Overview
Anesthesia is a medical procedure that uses drugs for CNS suppression to enable painless surgeries and procedures. The selection of anesthetics is influenced by their pharmacokinetic properties, side effects, and patient characteristics. Various types of anesthesia include general, local, regional, spinal, and inhalational.
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...
01:22Stages of General Anesthesia
Various sedation levels offer significant advantages in facilitating procedural interventions for patients undergoing medical or invasive surgical procedures. These levels span from anxiolysis to general anesthesia, providing a spectrum of sedative effects to cater to specific patient needs. Anxiolysis reduces anxiety and is achieved through minimal sedation, enabling patients to remain awake and responsive while feeling more at ease during the procedure. This level can benefit minor...
01:24Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview
Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.
01:20Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview
Inhalation anesthetics are drugs that induce general anesthesia upon inhalation. They work by increasing the sensitivity of GABAA receptors or inhibiting NMDA receptors, leading to a decrease in central nervous system activity. The depth of anesthesia can be rapidly adjusted by changing the concentration of the inhaled gas. Some common examples of inhalational anesthetics include volatile liquids like isoflurane, desflurane, sevoflurane and gases like xenon and nitrous oxide. Isoflurane, a...
01:29Drug Dosing: Infants and Children
Pediatric patient dosages diverge from adults due to disparities in body surface area, total body water, and extracellular fluid per kilogram of body weight. The dosing regimen considers the variations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology across distinct age groups, encompassing preterm newborns, infants, young children, older children, and adolescents. Calculation of pediatric patient doses is predicated on determining body surface area, which exhibits a superior correlation with the child's...
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...