Clinical Research Directory

Inclusion Criteria: * Children between 1month to 17 years and 6 months * Sedation and analgesia for mechanical ventilation for more than 12 hours * Participants covered by or entitled to French social security * Informed consent, dated and signed, from the participant's legal representative(s). (The emergency inclusion procedure will be used if the legal representative(s) cannot be contacted. When the legal representative(s) and the patient are available and/or able to consent, informed consent from the participant's legal representative(s) * Ability for participant to comply with the requirements of the study * Receiving sedation by benzodiazepines for less than 6 hours at the time of inclusion Exclusion Criteria: * Patients under guardianship, curatorship or legal protection * Pregnant or breastfeeding woman (positive pregnancy test for women of childbearing age) * High-grade heart conduction disorder (Second or third-degree atrioventricular block) * Status epilepticus * Intracranial hypertension * Sedation for more than 6 hours by benzodiazepines at the time of inclusion * Need for paralytic medication (neuromuscular blocker) at admission to PICU * Following cardiac surgery * Palliative care on admission * Significant bradycardia * Severe hepatic dysfunction (CHILD score C or worse) due to the hepatic metabolism of dexmedetomidine * Patient already enrolled in the study previously * Expected duration of invasive mechanical ventilation inferior to 12 hours * Hospitalized in a pediatric intensive care unit without computerized prescription software