Enteral Sedation in Patients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation During an Intravenous Analgesic and Sedative Shortage

The authors conducted a single center, retrospective, observational study comparing mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients who received either a combination of enteral and intravenous (IV) sedatives or IV monotherapy during a shortage of sedatives. They found that enteral sedation may be an effective strategy to decrease IV analgesia needs during a shortage.