08:15 Nov 30, 2011 

One idea, then, is that odtlumení and the corresponding verb refer to the use of a muscle relaxant? This is the Kazuistika section of an article that was published in a journal, and unfortunately there's no list of the drugs used.

22:00 Nov 29, 2011 

Thanks everyone, I'll come back to this tomorrow. The relevant paragraph, where the word "odtlumení" is used, begins like this: "Druhý den ráno po vysazení sedace byla nemocná opět agitovaná, ale již s menší intenzitou ...". "Vysazení" I take to mean discontinuation, and there's no more mention of any "sedace" being given after that...

21:37 Nov 29, 2011 

right, Misha, I feel like some NY lawyer arguing, I'm actually having fun with this, but what Dylan should do is leave a comment in the email or directly in the file to explain that this is to vague for pinpointing precisely, and for now, in my view, alleviation covers that non-specificity without leaving the translation consumer with false info or lack of understanding, relative to the scant context

21:32 Nov 29, 2011 

or more precisely and perhaps less astringently, hypertonia is clearly treated with other drugs than sedatives, and it would be irresponsible of any doctor to jump to the conclusion that this disease is treated by sedatives alone and not, for example, an antispastic drug - http://www.rxlist.com/kemstro-drug.htm

21:31 Nov 29, 2011 

Yes, you are correct, but you should know from the list of drugs in the discharge summary whether Baclofen was used or not.

21:23 Nov 29, 2011 

Misha, that Czech doctor cannot pinpoint for sure, especially with the sparse info to go on, that Baclofen would not be used, and that is not a sedative, my references are dead solid, so what now...

20:43 Nov 29, 2011 

I checked with a Czech doctor who said that in your case it means "snížení dávky sedativa"

20:38 Nov 29, 2011 

very good point Misha, Dylan as you know these authors sometimes try to confuse translators by calling the same thing by five names and expecting us to know...it may be this case...however by the vague info it's hard to say if this was treated by a sedative or other drug, like the one I mentioned...indeed hypertonia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertonia) is mentioned as the illness in question to be "odtlumeno"...and this could be treated by baclofen (http://www.nursingcenter.com/library/JournalArticle.asp?Arti... so while not wanting to disagree officially with Misha, I prefer standing by the more generic term "alleviation" to convey the original meaning, because "sedation" could be misleading indeed...maybe no sedative was administered and this answer would effectively be painting oneself in to the wrong corner...at the end of the day to be more specific than "alleviation" I'd seek support from client/agent as a post-Proz precaution...there's simply not enough to go on to be certain.