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Inhalational Agents: What Volatile Inhalational Agents Are and How to Use Them in the ICU Setting

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Sedation and Analgesia for the Pediatric Intensivist

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Abstract

Inhalational anesthetic agents are mainstay of use in the operating room for general anesthesia. Over the past decade, the use of inhalational volatile anesthetics has expanded to the critical care setting. Patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) from the emergency department (ED) or operating room often require continuous and prolonged infusions of sedatives and opioids for management of pain and anxiety, tolerance of mechanical ventilation, control of intracranial hypertension, and/or provision of immobility. The purpose of this chapter is to review volatile inhalational agents, their specific properties, end organ effects, and use in the ICU setting. The advantages and limitations of the expansion of the volatile anesthetics in the critical care setting along with the safe delivery of inhalational anesthetics for the management of status asthmaticus, status epilepticus, and sedation will be discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emory University School of Medicine, Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute, Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellowship Program, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Erin V. Rosenberg

  2. Emory University School of Medicine, Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Lily Young

  3. Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Michael Fiedorek

  4. Emory University School of Medicine, Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute, Satellite Blvd. Surgery Center, Division of Pediatric and Ambulatory Anesthesiology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Chhaya Patel

Authors
  1. Erin V. Rosenberg
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  2. Lily Young
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  4. Chhaya Patel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chhaya Patel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Pradip P. Kamat

  2. Professor of Pediatrics/Pediatric Critical Care, University of Louisville, “Just For Kids” Critical Care Center, Norton Children’s Hospital, Louisville, KY, USA

    John W. Berkenbosch

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Rosenberg, E.V., Young, L., Fiedorek, M., Patel, C. (2021). Inhalational Agents: What Volatile Inhalational Agents Are and How to Use Them in the ICU Setting. In: Kamat, P.P., Berkenbosch, J.W. (eds) Sedation and Analgesia for the Pediatric Intensivist. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52555-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52555-2_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-52555-2

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