Depending on the procedure, the level of sedation may range from minimal (you'll feel drowsy but able to talk) to deep (you probably won't remember the procedure). Moderate or deep sedation may slow your breathing, and in some cases, you may be given oxygen. Analgesia may also contribute to drowsiness.
Oversedation may result in the interference of adequate oxygenation and ventilation, resulting in a decrease of oxygen (hypoxia), or no oxygen (anoxia), and/or an excess amount of CO2 (hypercarbia) in the blood.
Potential side effects of sedation, although there are fewer than with general anesthesia, include headache, nausea, and drowsiness. These side effects usually go away quickly. Because levels of sedation vary, it's important to be monitored during surgery to make sure you don't experience complications.
(… seh-DAY-shun) A level of sedation in which a person is in a deep sleep, loses feeling, and is hard to wake up. Deep sedation is caused by special drugs and is used to help relieve anxiety during certain medical or surgical procedures.
Long-term sedation can be unpredictable from patient to patient, causing sometimes devastating results, including brain damage.
Nursing and other medical staff usually talk to sedated people and tell them what is happening as they may be able to hear even if they can't respond. Some people had only vague memories whilst under sedation. They'd heard voices but couldn't remember the conversations or the people involved.
Some patients need to be sedated for hours, days or even weeks. If they are doing well - waking up, are strong enough, and breathing by themselves - then the breathing tube can usually be taken out. Everyone is different so please ask the ICU nurse or doctor how long your loved one is likely to be sedated for.
The recovery from sedation is similar to that of general anesthesia, but patients usually wake up quicker and their recovery time is shorter. As with general anesthesia, you won't be able to drive and should probably have someone stay with you for at least the first several hours after you return home.
A drug-induced coma, better known as sedation in the medical field, is commonly used in medical, surgical and neurological intensive care units.
You may be able to go home when you are alert and can stand up. This may take 1 to 2 hours after you have received deep sedation. You may feel tired, weak, or unsteady on your feet after you get sedation. You may also have trouble concentrating or short-term memory loss.
When compared with local anesthesia alone, the two most significant negative variables introduced by moderate sedation, as well as deep sedation and general anesthesia, are the added risks for either respiratory depression, ie, hypoventilation, or airway obstruction in the deeply sedated or unconscious patient.
Despite the medications commonly used in anesthesia allow recovery in a few minutes, a delay in waking up from anesthesia, called delayed emergence, may occur.
In deep sedation you will be asleep, but in mild and moderate sedation you usually feel pleasantly relaxed. When we asked some patients what it felt like, some answers were: 'I felt very spaced out and dreamy. '
Survival. There are reports that after initiation of palliative sedation, 38% of people died within 24 hours and 96% of people died within one week. Other studies report a survival time of < 3 weeks in 94% of people after starting palliative sedation.
A possible sign of oversedation is a spontaneous reversion to mouth breathing, especially in adults (children are more likely to do this in the absence of oversedation).
Patients who receive conscious sedation are usually able to speak and respond to verbal cues throughout the procedure, communicating any discomfort they may experience to the provider. A brief period of amnesia may erase any memory of the procedures. Conscious sedation does not last long, but it may make you drowsy.
IV sedation works quickly, with most people falling asleep in roughly 15 to 30 minutes after it's been administered. Once the IV sedation is removed, you will begin to wake up in about 20 minutes and be fully recovered from all sedative effects within six hours.
Don't believe the myth that a patient sedated with midazolam or propofol can't feel pain. Studies show otherwise: About 50% of ICU patients who were intubated and sedated recall painful events.
General anesthesia is the strongest form of sedation. Under general anesthesia, you are fully unconscious throughout the procedure.
Normally a medically induced coma shouldn't last for much longer than a few days and given that ventilation with a breathing tube and the induced coma comes with risks, the time in an induced coma and on a ventilator should be minimized as much as possible.
After your operation, the anaesthetist will stop the anaesthetic and you'll gradually wake up. You'll usually be in a recovery room at first, before being transferred to a ward. Depending on your circumstances, you'll usually need to stay in hospital for a few hours to a few days after your operation.
Long-term sedation may have serious adverse effects including prolonged mechanical ventilation, delirium, impaired cognitive function, prolonged hospitalization, increased costs, and mortality.
Sedative medications are commonly prescribed within the ICU environment primarily for the treatment of agitation and anxiety, which themselves may be caused by many different conditions (eg, dyspnea, delirium, mechanical ventilation, lack of sleep, and untreated pain).