Propofol for Sedation of the Critically Ill Child

Propofol is an intravenous anesthetic medication with favorable pharmacokinetic properties which include rapid onset, titratable depth of sedation, and rapid offset. Its major dose-dependent side effects include respiratory depression and hypotension. It is frequently administered for procedural sedation and anesthesia in pediatrics, but its use as a continuous sedative infusion for critically ill children is limited by safety concerns, specifically the rare but serious risk of propofol-related infusion syndrome. With these concerns in mind, continuous sedation with propofol for a limited period of time can be an excellent choice for certain pediatric patient populations, including children who require deep but brief sedation, children with increased intracranial pressure, and children in need of adjunctive palliative sedation.