"Between the fixed and the changing": examining and comparing reliability and validity of 3 sedation-agitation measuring scales.

The goal of the study was to compare the reliability and validity of 3 Sedation Agitation Scale. Two nurses and a physician conducted 130 observations simultaneously. They found an excellent interrater reliability in the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (r>0.86), and high correlations between the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale and the Sedation Agitation Scale and Visual Analog Scale scales (r=0.92, r=0.85). The research findings will help to assert Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale as a daily assessment tool in the intensive care unit, and it will pave the way for construction a sedation protocol according to the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale level.