Critical Care >Physical Examination in the ICU

John M. Oropello, Stephen M. Pastores, Vladimir Kvetan+

Table 10–1Riker sedation-agitation scale.

Score Term Descriptor

Pulling at ET tube, trying to remove catheters, climbing over

7 Dangerous agitation
bedrail, striking at staff, thrashing side-to-side

Requiring restraint and frquent verbal reminding of limits, biting

6 Very agitated
ETT

5 Agitated Anxious or physically agitated, calms to verbal instructions

4 Calm and cooperative Calm, easily arousable, follows commands

Difficult to arouse but awakens to verbal stimuli or gentle shaking,

3 Sedated
follows simple commands but drifts off again

Arouses to physical stimuli but does not communicate or follow

2 Very sedated
commands, may move spontaneously

Minimal or no response to noxious stimuli, does not communicate

1 Unarousable
or follow commands

Reproduced with pemission from Riker RR, Picard JT, Fraser GL: Prospective evaluation of the Sedation-Agitation Scale for adult critically ill patients, Crit Care Med 1999 Jul;27(7):1325-1329.

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