Methods for monitoring the level of sedation.

Sedative drugs commonly are titrated to effect in critically ill patients. Subjective clinical assessment tools are used to determine the patient's level of sedation, and there clearly is a need for improved quantitative methods of monitoring sedation. This article describes the current methods for assessing the level of sedation in critically ill patients and discusses the potential role of neurophysiologic monitoring using processed electroencephalograms and evoked potentials.