Effectiveness of implementing a wake up and breathe program on sedation and delirium in the ICU.

Objectives: Mechanically ventilated critically ill patients receive significant amounts of sedatives and analgesics that increase their risk of developing coma and delirium. We evaluated the impact of a "Wake-up and Breathe Protocol" at our local ICU on sedation and delirium.

Design: A pre/post implementation study design.

Setting: A 22-bed mixed surgical and medical ICU.

Patients: Seven hundred two consecutive mechanically ventilated ICU patients from June 2010 to January 2013.

Interventions: Implementation of daily paired spontaneous awakening trials (daily sedation vacation plus spontaneous breathing trials) as a quality improvement project.

Measurements And Main Results: After implementation of our program, there was an increase in the mean Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale scores on weekdays of 0.88 (p < 0.0001) and an increase in the mean Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale scores on weekends of 1.21 (p < 0.0001). After adjusting for age, race, gender, severity of illness, primary diagnosis, and ICU, the incidence and prevalence of delirium did not change post implementation of the protocol (incidence: 23% pre vs 19.6% post; p = 0.40; prevalence: 66.7% pre vs 55.3% post; p = 0.06). The combined prevalence of delirium/coma decreased from 90.8% pre protocol implementation to 85% postimplementation (odds ratio, 0.505; 95% CI, 0.299-0.853; p = 0.01).

Conclusions: Implementing a "Wake Up and Breathe Program" resulted in reduced sedation among critically ill mechanically ventilated patients but did not change the incidence or prevalence of delirium.