title: Sedation assessment: easier said than done!
abstract: Sedation assessment commonly is performed in critically ill patients to evaluate their need for, and response to, sedation therapy. Although many sedation assessment scales have been published, few have been tested properly to assure their appropriateness for use in critically ill patients. This article highlights the published sedation assessment scales that have the strongest scientific basis, identifies limitations of the current scales, and suggests characteristics for future sedation assessment scales that would overcome many of the current problems.
authors.affiliation: chulay@aol.com
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chulay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing* / Q000639:trends; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing / Q000592:standards; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index