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Sedation
 
 
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Sedation is a medical procedure
Medical procedure

A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a result in the care of persons with health problems.A medical procedure with the intention of determining, measuring or diagnosis a patient condition or parameter is also called a medical test....
 involving the administration of sedative
Sedative

A sedative is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement.At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait , poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes....
 drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure with local anaesthesia.

Uses
Sedation is typically used in procedures such as endoscopy
Endoscopy

Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an instrument called an endoscope....
, vasectomy
Vasectomy

Vasectomy is a surgical procedure in which the vas deferens of a man are cut for the purpose of Sterilization ....
, or minor surgery and in dentistry
Dentistry

Dentistry is the known evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the mouth, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body....
 for reconstructive surgery, some cosmetic surgeries, removal of wisdom teeth, or for high-anxiety patients. Sedation methods in dentistry
Dentistry

Dentistry is the known evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the mouth, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body....
 include inhalation sedation (using nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas", is a chemical compound with the chemical formula Nitrogen2Oxygen. At room temperature, it is a colorless Flammability gas, with a pleasant, slightly sweet odor and taste....
), oral sedation, and intravenous (IV) sedation.






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Encyclopedia


Sedation is a medical procedure
Medical procedure

A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a result in the care of persons with health problems.A medical procedure with the intention of determining, measuring or diagnosis a patient condition or parameter is also called a medical test....
 involving the administration of sedative
Sedative

A sedative is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement.At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait , poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes....
 drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure with local anaesthesia.

Uses


Sedation is typically used in procedures such as endoscopy
Endoscopy

Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an instrument called an endoscope....
, vasectomy
Vasectomy

Vasectomy is a surgical procedure in which the vas deferens of a man are cut for the purpose of Sterilization ....
, or minor surgery and in dentistry
Dentistry

Dentistry is the known evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the mouth, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body....
 for reconstructive surgery, some cosmetic surgeries, removal of wisdom teeth, or for high-anxiety patients. Sedation methods in dentistry
Dentistry

Dentistry is the known evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the mouth, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body....
 include inhalation sedation (using nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas", is a chemical compound with the chemical formula Nitrogen2Oxygen. At room temperature, it is a colorless Flammability gas, with a pleasant, slightly sweet odor and taste....
), oral sedation, and intravenous (IV) sedation. Inhalation sedation is also sometimes referred to as Relative Analgesia.

Sedation is also used extensively in the intensive care unit
Intensive Care Unit

An intensive care unit , critical care unit , intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit is a specialized department used in many countries' hospitals that provides intensive care medicine....
 so that patients who are being ventilated
Mechanical ventilation

In medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method to mechanically assist or replace spontaneous respiration .Mechanical ventilation is typically used after an invasive intubation, a procedure wherein an endotracheal tube or tracheostomy tube is inserted into the airway....
 tolerate having an endotracheal tube
Endotracheal tube

An endotracheal tube is used in general anaesthesia, intensive care and emergency medicine for airway management and mechanical ventilation. The tube is inserted into a patient's vertebrate trachea in order to ensure that the airway is not closed off and that air is able to reach the lungs....
 in their trachea
Vertebrate trachea

The traceartes, or windpipe, is a tube that has an inner diameter of about 20-25 mm and a length of about 10-16 cm in humans. It commences at the larynx and bifurcates into the primary bronchus in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, allowing the passage of air to the lungs....
.

Risks


Airway obstruction
Airway obstruction

Airway obstruction is a Respiration problem caused by increased resistance in the bronchioles that reduces the amount of air inhaled in each breath and the Breathing gas that reaches the Pulmonary artery....
, apnoea and hypotension
Hypotension

In physiology and medicine, hypotension refers to an abnormally low blood pressure. This is best understood as a physiologic state, rather than a disease....
 are not uncommon during sedation and require the presence of health professionals who are suitably trained to detect and manage these problems.

Levels of sedation


Sedation scales are used in medical
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
 situations in conjunction with a medical history in assessing the applicable degree of sedation in patients in order to avoid under-sedation (the patient risks experiencing pain or distress) and over-sedation (the patient risks side effects such as suppression of breathing, which might lead to death). Typically, levels are (i) agitation, (ii) calm, (iii) responsive to voice only, (iv) responsive to shaking only, (v) responsive to pain only, and (vi) not responsive.

Examples of sedation scales include: MSAT (Minnesota Sedation Assessment Tool), UMSS (University of Michigan Sedation Scale) and the Ramsay Scale (Ramsay, et al. 1974)

See also

  • Terminal sedation
    Terminal sedation

    Terminal sedation is the practice of relieving distress in a terminally ill person in the last hours or days of a patient's life, usually by means of a continuous intravenous or subcutaneous infusion of a sedative drug....
  • Procedural sedation
    Procedural sedation

    Procedural sedation is defined as "a technique of administering sedatives or dissociative agents with or without analgesics to induce a state that allows the patient to tolerate unpleasant procedures while maintaining cardiorespiratory function." It was previously referred to as conscious sedation....


External links

  • - Do Anxious Dental Patients Really Need Oral Sedation?