International anesthesiology clinics
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Int Anesthesiol Clin · Jan 1995
Review Comparative StudyPropofol: a new drug for sedation in the intensive care unit.
Patients in the ICU who require intubation and mechanical ventilation benefit from adequate sedation and analgesia. Traditionally, this has been achieved using benzodiazepines and opioids. Alternatively, propofol is being administered for sedation of patients in the ICU with increasing frequency. ⋯ Finally, continuous administration of propofol may cause clinically significant hypertriglyceridemia in patients with disordered triglyceride metabolism, or in patients receiving excessive doses of propofol or parenteral lipid supplements. Although propofol is more expensive than equipotent doses of other sedative agents, the additional cost of using propofol for sedation of critically ill patients in the ICU may be more than offset by the savings accrued from faster times to extubation, shorter ICU stays, and the use of fewer medications to manage these patients. Further research needs to be done to determine the potential clinical and cost benefits of using propofol for sedation of patients in the ICU.