Practised sedation in mechanically ventilated patients: A survey of nurses’ perceptions

Recent clinical practice guidelines recommend analgosedation in intensive care unit patients, where the patients' pain first is relieved, followed by sedatives only on indication. The aims of the present study was to examine sedation practice today, to evaluate the degree to which there is a difference in sedation practice between units, and to investigate the associations between nurses' demographic characteristics and their perception of sedation practice. A cross sectional survey was conducted to the nurses in three intensive care units in Norway. The results indicated that light sedation was implemented in the three intensive care unit studied. Continuous infusion of propofol and dexmedetomidine were used most frequently, and continuous infusion of midazolam was used occasionally. However, the sedation practices varied significantly between the units. Subjective scoring systems, physician's prescriptions, and prescription follow-up were reported to be most frequently used as guidelines and directives, and Richmond Agitation–Sedation Scale was reported to be the most frequently used sedation assessment tool.