[Principles of analgesia and sedation]

This lecture outlines the current pharmacological concepts of sedation and analgesia in the critically ill patient requiring intensive care therapy. The primary goal is to sedate such patients so that they tolerate mechanical ventilation, as well as the therapeutic and diagnostic procedures that are routinely performed on an intensive care ward. The pharmacological regimen comprises both anxiolytic and analgesic drugs. So far, no drug combination has been identified as the ideal therapy; the standard deviation of successful analgosedation is large due to an unpredictable individual response. Because the drugs currently used are free of toxic side effects, the selection made is mainly determined by factors relating to pharmacokinetic criteria, such as short half-life of action or a predictable time of elimination. So far, the selection or combination of certain drugs has not been found to influence the patient's outcome in severe disease states such as sepsis, multiple trauma, or neurotrauma. "Good quality" of sedation and analgesia is still judged by its ability to suppress tachycardia, hypertension, hyperventilation or respiratory efforts against mechanical ventilation and the absence of increases in intracranial pressure during therapeutic manoeuvres.