Epidemiology of sedation and sedation adequacy for mechanically ventilated patients in a medical and surgical intensive care unit*

Although patients were minimally arousable or nonarousable in 32% and motionless in 21% of the sedation assessments, surprisingly, an oversedation rating occurred in <3%. This discrepancy, along with findings that time of day influences the interpretation of sedation adequacy and that patients' behavior change over time suggests that collaborative research is needed to define adequate sedation.