Table 5.
Respondents’ agreement with statements reflecting common perceptions of daily sedation interruption
| Total, % ( n ) a | Physicians, % ( n ) b | Nurses, % ( n ) c | P value d | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSI should only be performed on physicians’ orders | 84 (716) | 83 (254) | 84 (472) | 0.450 |
| DSI increases the risk of complications such as self-extubation, pulling out of intravenous lines or feeding tubes … | 78 (666) | 69 (210) | 82 (456) | <0.001 |
| It is easier to take care of a sedated patient than a patient who is awake | 71 (609) | 54 (165) | 80 (444) | <0.001 |
| If I was intubated, I would prefer not to have my sedation stopped every day | 57 (483) | 41 (122) | 65 (361) | <0.001 |
| If patients are only lightly sedated, DSI is not useful | 57 (482) | 51 (155) | 60 (327) | 0.011 |
| I don’t see the point of stopping sedation every day for every patient | 54 (464) | 48 (146) | 57 (318) | 0.006 |
| DSI is detrimental to the comfort of intubated patients | 52 (446) | 37 (112) | 60 (334) | <0.001 |
| For organizational reasons, it is difficult to envisage DSI being performed for most of my patients | 50 (427) | 41 (126) | 54 (301) | <0.001 |
| DSI creates traumatic memories for the intubated patient | 35 (294) | 28 (84) | 39 (210) | 0.001 |
| I’m not familiar with this practice | 22 (175) | 11 (33) | 28 (142) | <0.001 |
Responses were provided in the form of a six-point Likert scale (’Strongly disagree’, ‘Disagree’, ‘Inclined to disagree’, ‘Inclined to agree’, ‘Agree’, ‘Strongly agree’). The positive answers (‘Inclined to agree’, ‘Agree’, ‘Strongly agree’) were compiled in a one-and-only category and results are presented in the table. DSI, daily sedation interruption. aNumber does not total 898 because not all respondents answered each item. bNumber does not total 323 because not all respondents answered each item. cNumber does not total 575 because not all respondents answered each item. dCalculated using the chi-square test.