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Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) is a medical scale used to measure the agitation or sedation level of a person. It was developed with efforts of different practitioners, represented by physicians, nurses and pharmacists. [1] [2] The RASS can be used in all hospitalized patients to describe their level of alertness or agitation. [3]
The original scoring system was developed before the invention of pulse oximetry and used the patient's colouration as a surrogate marker of their oxygenation status. A modified Aldrete scoring system was described in 1995 [2] which replaces the assessment of skin colouration with the use of pulse oximetry to measure SpO 2.
This level, called moderate sedation/analgesia or conscious sedation, causes a drug induced depression of consciousness during which the patient responds purposefully to verbal commands, either alone or accompanied with light physical stimulation. Breathing tubes are not required for this type of anesthesia. This is twilight anesthesia. [2]
Sedation scales are used in medical situations in conjunction with a medical history in assessing the applicable degree of sedation in patients in order to avoid under-sedation (the patient risks experiencing pain or distress) and over-sedation (the patient risks side effects such as suppression of breathing, which might lead to death).
Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is a technique in which a sedating/dissociative medication is given, usually along with an analgesic medication, in order to perform non-surgical procedures on a patient. The overall goal is to induce a decreased level of consciousness while maintaining the patient's ability to breathe on their own.
Since general anesthesia first became widely used in late 1846, assessment of anesthetic depth was a problem. To determine the depth of anesthesia, the anesthetist relies on a series of physical signs of the patient.
The score is assessed by asking the patient, in a sitting posture, to open their mouth and to protrude the tongue as much as possible. [1] The anatomy of the oral cavity is visualized; specifically, the assessor notes whether the base of the uvula, faucial pillars (the arches in front of and behind the tonsils) and soft palate are visible.
Studies have shown that use of the scale in management of alcohol withdrawal leads to decreased frequency of over-sedation with benzodiazepines in patients with milder alcohol withdrawal than would otherwise be detected without use of the scale, and decreased frequency of under-treatment in patients with greater severity of withdrawal than ...