title: Pain management in critically ill patients: a review of multimodal treatment options.
abstract: Pain management for critically ill patients provides physicians with the challenge of maximizing patient comfort while avoiding the risks that arise with oversedation. Preventing oversedation has become increasingly important as we better understand the negative impact it has on patients' experiences and outcomes. Current research suggests that oversedation can result in complications such as thromboembolism, pulmonary compromise, immunosuppression and delirium. Fortunately, the analgesic options available for physicians to limit these complications are growing as more treatment modalities are being researched and implemented in the intensive care unit. Our goal is to outline some of the effective and widely utilized tools available to physicians to appropriately and safely manage pain while avoiding oversedation in the critically ill population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohler
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gelber
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher Aj
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Weyker
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000777:Anesthetics
keywords: ICU; analgesia; critical care; pain management; sedation