並列摘要
Agitation frequently occurs among the critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). The agitation syndrome may be caused by many factors, including the underlying illnesses, discomfort associated with invasive catheterization and intubation, and many stimulus common to the ICU environment. The syndrome complicates management in the ICU, often leading to further morbidity and complications. Therefore, sedative care is very important to critically ill patients. In this review article, we described the definition, signs, and symptoms of agitation. In addition, we discussed factors contributing to agitation, differential diagnosis of agitation, care of agitation and researches of evidence base in sedative care, scales, and tools to monitor agitation. This article may serve as a useful reference in clinical practice for sedative care.