Sedation and sleep disturbances in the ICU

Gerald L Weinhouse; Paula L Watson

doi:10.1016/j.anclin.2011.09.007

Sedation and sleep disturbances in the ICU

Anesthesiol Clin. 2011 Dec;29(4):675-85. doi: 10.1016/j.anclin.2011.09.007.

Authors

Gerald L Weinhouse¹, Paula L Watson

Affiliation

¹ Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. gweinhouse@partners.org

PMID: 22078916
DOI: 10.1016/j.anclin.2011.09.007

Abstract

Sedation in the ICU is, paradoxically, both a cause and a potential treatment for the sleep disruption almost universally observed in the critically ill. A patient-focused sedation strategy that minimizes unnecessary medication, avoids medication withdrawal, addresses the specific impediments to sleep, and serves as an adjunct to attentive environmental control may ultimately serve patients best.