Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale
Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) is a medical scale used to measure the agitation or sedation level of a person. It was developed with efforts of different practitioners, represented by physicians, nurses and pharmacists. The RASS can be used in all hospitalized patients to describe their level of alertness or agitation. It is however mostly used in mechanically ventilated patients in order to avoid over and under-sedation. Obtaining a RASS score is the first step in administering the Confusion Assessment Method in the ICU (CAM-ICU), a tool to detect delirium in intensive care unit  patients. The RASS is one of many sedation scales used in medicine. Other scales include the Ramsay scale, the Sedation-Agitation-Scale, and the COMFORT scale for pediatric patients. Evaluation. RASS was designed to have precise, unambiguous definitions for levels of sedation that rely on an assessment of arousal, cognition, and sustainability using common responses common stimuli presented in a logical progression. To better use it these stimuli should presented to the patient as follows: