Sedation assessment using the Ramsay scale.

Patients undergoing sedation in emergency departments (EDs) must be monitored carefully to ensure that, when they are being transferred to different departments, they are safe and that information about them is accurate. However, sedation scoring, for which several tools are available, should not be confused with assessment of consciousness, which is undertaken using the Glasgow Coma Scale. This article considers the validity and reliability of sedation scoring tools, and discusses how ED staff can choose and integrate them into patient care pathways.