Sedation for the mechanically ventilated patient.

This article discusses the potential benefits of sedation for the mechanically ventilated patient. These benefits include the alleviation of anxiety and pain, which may result in a reduction of oxygen consumption. Other advantages include improved synchronization of a patient's breathing pattern with ventilator settings and better patient care, comfort, and safety. The patient's clinical situation, such as respiratory failure caused by right-to-left shunt, cardiovascular problems, elevated intracranial pressure, hepatic disease, and renal failure, needs to be considered when selecting a sedative agent.