Effectiveness of Implementing a Wake Up and Breathe Program on Sedation and Delirium in the ICU

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Objectives:Mechanically ventilated critically ill patients receive significant amounts of sedatives and analgesics that increase their risk of developing coma and delirium. We evaluated the impact of a “Wake-up and Breathe Protocol” at our local ICU on sedation and delirium. Design:A pre/post implementation study design. Setting:A 22-bed mixed surgical and medical ICU. Patients:Seven hundred two consecutive mechanically ventilated ICU patients from June 2010 to January 2013. Interventions:Implementation of daily paired spontaneous awakening trials (daily sedation vacation plus spontaneous breathing trials) as a quality improvement project. Measurements and Main Results:After implementation of our program, there was an increase in the mean Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale scores on weekdays of 0.88 (p < 0.0001) and an increase in the mean Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale scores on weekends of 1.21 (p < 0.0001). After adjusting for age, race, gender, severity of illness, primary diagnosis, and ICU, the incidence and prevalence of delirium did not change post implementation of the protocol (incidence: 23% pre vs 19.6% post; p = 0.40; prevalence: 66.7% pre vs 55.3% post; p = 0.06). The combined prevalence of delirium/coma decreased from 90.8% pre protocol implementation to 85% postimplementation (odds ratio, 0.505; 95% CI, 0.299–0.853; p = 0.01). Conclusions:Implementing a “Wake Up and Breathe Program” resulted in reduced sedation among critically ill mechanically ventilated patients but did not change the incidence or prevalence of delirium.