Advances in Sedation Monitoring Reported

The sensor, called BIS (bispectral index) Extend, was developed by Aspect Medical Systems (Newton, MA, USA) and runs on the company's XP platform. The sensor provides resistance to electrical artifacts and detects and filters interference from muscle artifacts caused by eye movement and other sources. Aspect's BIS technology provides information on the effects of sedatives and anesthesia on the brain. A BIS monitor obtains the information from electrical brain activity and then translates this information into a single number from 100 (an awake patient) to zero (absence of electrical activity) that represents each patient's level of consciousness.

According to a study led by Lewis J. Kaplan, M.D., of the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital (USA), nearly 70% of patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) were found to be inappropriately sedated. Of these, 15% were undersedated and 54% were oversedated when sedatives were titrated only to clinical assessment. BIS technology enables clinicans to make a more objective and reliable assessment of sedation in critically ill patients, says Aspect Medical Systems.

"By administering too little sedation medication, we can run the risk of recall or agitated patients harming themselves by pulling out tubes or drains,” said Dr. Gerald Fulda, director of surgical critical care at Christiana Hospital (Newark, DE, USA). "On the other side, too much drug can cause dips in blood pressure and prolong the need for mechanical ventilation. BIS can improve overall ICU care by allowing for proper titration of sedation medicine.”




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