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The State of Sedation in the Nation: Results of an Australian Survey
ABSTRACT
Objective:
The authors conducted a postal survey to establish what the current sedative and analgesic practice in selected Australian intensive care units was.
Methods:
A questionnaire based on a European email survey was devised and then posted to directors and senior Intensivists in 72 Australian intensive care units.
Results:
There were 47 returns out of 72 units. The most commonly used drugs were infusions of morphine and midazolam. A sedation scale was used in 21 of the units that replied to the survey. Only 7 units surveyed regularly audited complications related to sedation. The most common method of sedative/analgesic drug administration was by continuous infusion.
Conclusions:
Despite recent recommendations for daily interruption of sedative agents and the use of a sedation scale, this was not the most common practice in Australian intensive care units. Most units used continuous infusions of midazolam and morphine for sedation/analgesia. (Critical Care and Resuscitation 2005; 7: 92-96)
Key words:
Sedation, analgesia, Australian ICU's