Sedation Vacation in Neurocritical Care: A Proposal Algorithm

Abstract

Daily sedation interruption or sedation vacation is a strategy for neurological evaluation, respiratory mechanics, cardiac stability, and eventual weaning to extubation. However, its application has safety aspects such as pulmonary, cardiac, and neurological complications. A protocol-driven sedation vacation in the medical intensive care helps with the reduction in the intensive care length of stay and increase in ventilator-free days.1,2 The same approach can be used in neurointensive care with alterations based upon the neurocritical care progression.