The efficacy and safety of nurse‐initiated sedation management in an intensive care unit: A two‐phase prospective study in Japan

Aim This study aimed to evaluate whether nurse‐initiated sedation management could provide more appropriate sedation compared to usual care in a Japanese intensive care unit (ICU). Methods We conducted a single‐center, prospective observational study before and after implementing nurse‐initiated sedation using instruction sheets. Patients who had been admitted to a general adult ICU were enrolled. Before our ICU started nurse‐initiated sedation (pre‐implementation care), adjustment of sedatives and analgesics was performed only by a physician's written or verbal order; however, after implementing nurse‐initiated sedation, nurses titrated drugs using instruction sheets. The primary outcome was the efficacy of nurse‐initiated sedation, evaluated by the proportion achieving the target Richmond Agitation‐Sedation Scale (RASS) score. The analgesic status evaluated by Critical‐Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT), days of delirium, ventilator days, ICU mortality and hospital mortality were also evaluated. Results The study examined 30 patients in the pre‐implementation care phase and 30 patients in the nurse‐initiated sedation phase. The proportions achieving the target RASS were 68% in the nurse‐initiated sedation group and 42% in the pre‐implementation care group (mean difference, 25%; 95% confidence interval, 13.4%–37.5%; P