One of the most important goals of clinicians is patient comfort. When patients present to the emergency department (ED), treating the pain and anxiety that accompany the chief complaint are critical to patient satisfaction and quality of care. Nonetheless, clinicians may underuse sedation, usually from a lack of experience or from unchallenged myths regarding its use. Sedation is the depression of a patient's awareness to the environment and reduction of his or her responsiveness to external stimulation.