Comparison between Sedation-Agitation and Visual Analog Scales in Determination of Sedation Status of Patients

Aims: To reduce discomfort and anxiety, providing true sedation for the patients hospitalized in ICU is very important. Therefore, the staff of ICU needs tools to measure effective sedation in the patients. The aim of this study was to assess the sedation status in the patients hospitalized in ICU via SedationAgitation Scale (SAS) and to compare the findings with Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Instrument & Methods: In this correlational study in 2015, 106 patients hospitalized in the intensive care units of Qaem Hospital of Mashhad, Iran, were selected via quota sampling method and studied. Sedation status of the patients was assessed by the validated Persian version of SAS and VAS. Data was analyzed by SPSS 20 software and Spearman’s correlation coefficient test. Findings: There was a positive and significant correlation between SAS and VAS (p<0.001; r=0.824). The highest scoring of SAS, which was 6, was equivalent to score 3 in VAS. In general, the higher the score of SAS, the higher the score of VAS was. Conclusion: SAS and VAS are in a high correlation to assess sedation. Therefore, SAS can be used as a valid tool in the treatment sector.