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Review
. 2022 Aug 30:10:895541.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.895541. eCollection 2022.

A review of key strategies to address the shortage of analgesics and sedatives in pediatric intensive care

Roberta Esteves Vieira de Castro  1   2   3 , Miguel Rodríguez-Rubio  4   5 , Maria Clara de Magalhães-Barbosa  2 , Arnaldo Prata-Barbosa  2 , Jaimee Holbrook  6 , Pradip Kamat  7 , Anne Stormorken  8
Affiliations
Review

A review of key strategies to address the shortage of analgesics and sedatives in pediatric intensive care

Roberta Esteves Vieira de Castro et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Importance: Targeted analgosedation is a challenge in critically ill children, and this challenge becomes even more significant with drug shortages.

Observations: Published guidelines inform the provision of analgosedation in critically ill children. This review provides insights into general approaches using these guidelines during drug shortages in Pediatric Intensive Care Units as well as strategies to optimize both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches in these situations.

Conclusions and relevance: Considering that drug shortages are a recurrent worldwide problem, this review may guide managing these drugs in critically ill children in situations of scarcity, such as in pandemics or disasters.

Keywords: COVID-19; analgesia; delirium; pediatrics; sedation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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