Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention
Published on: October 16, 2013
Sedation, Analgesia, and Neuromuscular Blockade
Diana Morales Castro1, Federico Carlos Carini2, Eddy Fan3
1Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital Dr Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, El Carmen, San Jose; Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada.
Abstract:
Optimal sedation and analgesia in critical illness require a structured, patient-centered approach grounded in an understanding of how critical illness alters pharmacologic needs. Analgesia-first strategies and targeted light sedation with short-acting agents enhance comfort, interaction, and ventilator synchrony while reducing oversedation and delirium. Frequent clinical reassessment of sedation level using validated clinical scales is needed, which may be complemented by objective tools such as processed electroencephalography, nociception monitoring, respiratory drive metrics, and neuromuscular monitoring.
Related Concept Videos
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview
General Anesthesia: Overview
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...
Stages of General Anesthesia
Nondepolarizing (Competitive) Neuromuscular Blockers: Pharmacological Actions
Although all competitive neuromuscular blockers are designed...
Skeletal Muscle Relaxants: Adverse Effects
Unlike...
Skeletal Muscle Relaxants: Therapeutic Uses