Guidelines for inhaled sedation in the ICU

Sedation is used in intensive care units (ICU) to improve comfort and tolerance during mechanical ventilation, invasive interventions, and nursing care. In recent years, the use of inhalation anaesthetics for this purpose has increased. Our objective was to obtain and summarise the best evidence on inhaled sedation in adult patients in the ICU, and use this to help physicians choose the most appropriate approach in terms of the impact of sedation on clinical outcomes and the risk-benefit of the chosen strategy.

Given the overall lack of literature and scientific evidence on various aspects of inhaled sedation in the ICU, we decided to use a Delphi method to achieve consensus among a group of 17 expert panellists. The processes was conducted over a 12-month period between 2022 and 2023, and followed the recommendations of the CREDES guidelines.

The results of the Delphi survey form the basis of these 39 recommendations - 23 with a strong consensus and 15 with a weak consensus.

The use of inhaled sedation in the ICU is a reliable and appropriate option in a wide variety of clinical scenarios. However, there are numerous aspects of the technique that require further study.