Management of patient discomfort, anxiety, and agitation in the ICU is important in daily care and during bedside procedures. There is a growing resource of literature composed of multicenter surveys of sedation practices, review articles based on pharmacokinetics, limited placebo or blinded studies using selective agents, and various overviews of sedation management.<sup>72 Watling S.M., Dasta J.F., Seidl E.C. Sedatives, analgesics, and paralytics in the ICU Ann Pharmacother 1997 ;  31 : 148

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> Personal experience is combined with this knowledge, and sedation regimens are designed to provide efficacious and cost-effective care to the patient. The goal of this article is to help plan prospectively sedation and analgesia or anesthesia for procedures performed at the bedside. Monitoring standards, personnel requirements, pharmacologic options, and costs are examined for the spectrum of care options: sedation and analgesia, monitored anesthesia care (including deep sedation), and bedside general anesthesia (Figure 1).