Sedation in Critically-Ill COVID-19 Patients

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the globe. Clinicians worldwide have been battling the pandemic while managing criticallyill patients infected with the coronavirus. Critical cases of COVID-19 are characterised by respiratory failure, septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction. Sedation of critically-ill patients is a complex intervention, especially keeping in mind that COVID-19 is a new disease and determining optimum levels of sedation through the course of the infection remains challenging for clinicians. This symposium discussed sedation in critically-ill COVID-19 patients and provided an overview of the need for sedation, when to sedate and how to manage sedation in these patients. The symposium concluded with a Question and Answer session where experts answered important questions regarding sedation and management of these patients.