Sedation using dexmedetomidine in pediatric burn patients.

Maintaining appropriate sedation and analgesia in pediatric burn patients can be quite challenging and often requires high doses of analgesics and anxiolytics because tolerance quickly develops. Escalating doses of opioids and benzodiazepines provide little additional benefit while increasing the incidence of side effects. Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a novel alpha2-adrenergic agonist that provides sedation, anxiolysis, and analgesia with much less respiratory depression than other sedatives.