Side Effects Of IV Sedation

Function

Sedatives are used to reduce anxiety, decrease pain and induce sleep. Minor procedures usually require oral sedatives to calm the patient down. Major surgery requires the patient to be in a state of general anesthesia. Under general anesthesia, patients lose the ability to breathe on their own, so an anesthesiologist must assist them in breathing and protecting the airway.

Sedatives lower the patient's respiratory drive, and at high enough doses, completely stop it. When this happens, an anesthesiologist introduces a breathing tube in the patient's airway and connects it to a breathing machine called a ventilator. Sedatives can also affect the patient's heart rate and blood pressure. For these reasons, an anesthesiologist continually monitors patients' vital signs during these procedures.

Other side effects are related to the sedatives' action on the breathing centers of the brain. Decreasing the respiratory drive can result in less oxygen going to the body. The brain is particularly sensitive to decreases in oxygen. Lack of oxygen in the brain can lead to seizures and strokes. Low oxygen can also affect the heart, decreasing its ability to pump blood to itself and the rest of the body. This can lead to heart failure or a heart attack. Other organs affected by lack of oxygen include the kidneys, the adrenals and the liver.

Most sedatives can create physical and psychological dependency and some of them are sold as street drugs. Chronic use leads to escalating dosing requirement, creating an addiction problem. Using these medicines in a controlled environment for their intended use, and with medical supervision, does not cause addiction.

The best way to reduce the probability for side effects of IV sedation is to have a trained professional administering the drugs. Anesthesiologists and other providers know the proper dosing for each medicine, if there are antidotes against potential overdoses, and resuscitation techniques needed in case of respiratory depression.