Phase I: The development and content analysis of the Pediatric Sedation Agitation Scale.

No "gold standard" currently exists for the objective assessment of sedation depth in critically ill pediatric patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The risks for these patients due to both over-sedation and under-sedation include poorer outcomes, reduced patient and family satisfaction, and increased costs to the institutions. Available tools were unsatisfactory for the authors' patient population and practice model. The purpose of this study was to assess the content validity of the Pediatric Sedation-Agitation Scale (P-SAS), which was adapted from the Riker Sedation-Agitation Scale (SAS). Analysis by a panel of 30 health care professionals with expertise in pediatric acute care supported the content validity of the P-SAS.