[Protocol for the development of the Expert consensus on sedation and analgesia for neurocritical care patients (2023)].

To further standardize the sedation and analgesia treatment for neurocritical care patients, the National Center for Healthcare Quality Management in Neurological Diseases and Chinese Society of Critical Care Medicine organized national experts in this fields to form Working group of the Expert consensus on sedation and analgesia for neurocritical care patients in order to update the Expert consensus on sedation and analgesia for patients with severe brain injury (2013) based on evidence-based medicine. This update aims to provide scientific guidance for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of neurocritical care patients. The working group followed the definition of clinical practice guidelines by the Institution of Medicine (IOM) and the World Health Organization guidelines development handbook and Guidelines for the formulation/revision of clinical guidelines in China (2022) to register and draft the Expert consensus on sedation and analgesia for neurocritical care patients. The working group will strictly adhere to the consensus development process to formulate and publish the Expert consensus on sedation and analgesia for neurocritical care patients (2023). This protocol primarily introduces the development methodology and process of the Expert consensus on sedation and analgesia for neurocritical care patients (2023), including the purpose of the update, the target population, the composition of the consensus development working group, the presentation and collection of clinical questions, evidence evaluation and summarization, and the generation of recommended opinions. This will make the consensus development process more standardized and transparent.