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03-05-2008, 20:06

I have minimal personal experience with the BIS monitor having only used it twice.... both times patients were on extremely high ventilatory support and were being kept paralyzed so they didn't fight the machine. This is probably the only application I see it as helpful...when patients are paralyzed to make certain you are keeping them appropriately sedated.

The BIS monitor is easy to use but like everything else it is just one piece of the puzzle. You put a sensor on the patient's head and it records brain activity and gives you a number..... a high number (100) means the patient is wide awake.... the lower the number the more sedated... under 60 or so is typically unconscious... you titrate drugs to achieve the level of sedation you want.

In the ICU we typically still use vital signs and such to determine levels of sedation....not the most scientific method and probably we oversedate more than undersedate to be honest.

The OR is a separate entity where it is used regularly. I still don't believe its caught on in the ICUs.....

03-05-2008, 20:06	#7
Doc T Guest Posts: n/a	BIS monitoring I have minimal personal experience with the BIS monitor having only used it twice.... both times patients were on extremely high ventilatory support and were being kept paralyzed so they didn't fight the machine. This is probably the only application I see it as helpful...when patients are paralyzed to make certain you are keeping them appropriately sedated. The BIS monitor is easy to use but like everything else it is just one piece of the puzzle. You put a sensor on the patient's head and it records brain activity and gives you a number..... a high number (100) means the patient is wide awake.... the lower the number the more sedated... under 60 or so is typically unconscious... you titrate drugs to achieve the level of sedation you want. In the ICU we typically still use vital signs and such to determine levels of sedation....not the most scientific method and probably we oversedate more than undersedate to be honest. The OR is a separate entity where it is used regularly. I still don't believe its caught on in the ICUs.....