Table 5.

The Comfort Scale - The comfort scale score is ranged between 8 and 40. A total score between 17 and 26 is considered as indicative of good sedation (absence of stress).

Alertness	Deeply asleep Lightly asleep Drowsy Fully awake and alert Hyper alert
Calmness	Calm Slightly anxious Anxious Very Anxious Panicky
Respiratory distress	No coughing and no spontaneous respiration Spontaneous respiration with little or no response to ventilation Occasional cough or resistance to ventilation Actively breathes against ventilator or coughs regularly Fights ventilator; coughing or choking
Crying	Quiet breathing, no crying Sobbing or gasping Moaning Crying Screaming
Physical movement	No movement Occasional, slight movement Frequent, slight movements Vigorous movement Vigorous movements including torso and head
Muscle tone	Muscles totally relaxed; no muscle tone Reduced muscle tone Normal muscle tone Increased muscle tone and flexion of fingers and toes Extreme muscle rigidity and flexion of fingers and toes
Facial tension	Facial muscles totally relaxed Facial muscle tone normal; no facial muscle tension evident Tension evident in some facial muscles Tension evident throughout facial muscles Facial muscles contorted and grimacing
Blood pressure (MAP) baseline	Blood pressure below baseline Blood pressure consistently at baseline Infrequent elevations of 15% or more above baseline (1-3 during 2 minutes observation) Frequent elevations of 15% or more above baseline (>3 during 2 minutes observation) Sustained elevations of 15% or more
Heart rate baseline	Heart rate below baseline Heart rate consistently at baseline Infrequent elevations of 15% or more above baseline (1-3 during 2 minutes observation) Frequent elevations of 15% or more above baseline (>3 during 2 minutes observation) Sustained elevations of 15% or more