Pain management in critically ill patients

Pain is a common and distressing symptom in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and despite of pain research, guideline development, numerous awareness campaigns and intense educational efforts, it remains currently under evaluated and undertreated. The pain relief in critically ill patients may be difficult to achieve due to complex interplay between mechanisms of critical illness, drug interactions, organ dysfunctions and factors involved in influencing pain perception. A different medications have been proposed for pain control and they have unique considerations when contemplated for use in the critically ill patient. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of most important pharmacologic pain treatment in the critically ill patient.