title: Intensive care sedation: the past, present and the future.
abstract: Despite the universal prescription of sedative drugs in the intensive care unit (ICU), current practice is not guided by high-level evidence. Landmark sedation trials have made significant contributions to our understanding of the problems associated with ICU sedation and have promoted changes to current practice. We identified challenges and limitations of clinical trials which reduced the generalizability and the universal adoption of key interventions. We present an international perspective regarding current sedation practice and a blueprint for future research, which seeks to avoid known limitations and generate much-needed high-level evidence to better guide clinicians' management and therapeutic choices of sedative agents.
authors.forename: Yahya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shehabi
authors.forename: Rinaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bellomo
authors.forename: Sangeeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riker
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takala
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives