Sedation

Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation through the administration of sedative drugs such as propofol, ketamine, midazolam or etomidate, usually to allow a medical or diagnostic procedure to be carried out. It is used for minor surgical procedures such as endoscopy, vasectomy and dental work, with dentistry in particular using inhalation sedation with nitrous oxide, oral sedation and intravenous sedation, and it is used extensively in intensive care to help patients on a ventilator tolerate their endotracheal tube. The American Society of Anesthesiologists describes a continuum running from minimal sedation, where the patient still responds normally to speech, through moderate and deep sedation to general anesthesia, where the patient cannot be roused even by pain, and clinicians use scales such as the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale and the Ramsay Scale to judge the right depth and avoid both under sedation and over sedation.