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.