National survey and point prevalence study of sedation practice in UK critical care

Table 5 Reported versus actual sedative and analgesic agent use

Point prevalence study	First-choice sedative agent reported in national survey
	Propofol		Midazolam
Patients who received any sedative agent^a, n	170		18
Patients who received unit’s first-choice sedative agent, n (%)	149 (87.6)		6 (33.3)
Percentage of patients who received first-choice sedative across units^b, median (IQR)	100 (64–100)
Point prevalence study	First-choice analgesic agent reported in national survey^c
	Alfentanil	Fentanyl	Remifentanil	Morphine
Patients who received any analgesic agent^d, n	75	61	22	28
Patients who received unit’s first-choice analgesic agent, n (%)	58 (77.3)	57 (93.4)	12 (54.5)	15 (53.4)
Percentage of patients who received first-choice analgesic across units^e, median (IQR)	80 (67–100)

^a In critical care units reporting in the national survey that they use the indicated sedative agent as their first choice
^b Excluding units with fewer than three eligible patients (n = 23)
^c Ten patients in two units that reported using two alternative analgesic agents as their first choice are excluded from data for individual agents but included in summary data across units (where either of the two indicated agents may have been used)
^d In critical care units reporting in the national survey that they use the indicated analgesic agent as their first choice
^e Excluding units with fewer than three eligible patients (n = 19)

ISSN: 1364-8535