Table 1.

Levels of Sedation

	Responsiveness	Airway	Spontaneous Ventilation	Cardiovascular Function
Minimal sedation (anxiolysis)	Normal response to verbal stimulation	Unaffected	Unaffected	Unaffected
Moderate sedation	Purposeful response to verbal or tactile stimulation	No intervention required	Adequate	Usually maintained
Deep sedation	Purposeful response after repeated or painful stimulation	Intervention may be required	May be inadequate	Usually maintained
General anesthesia	Unarousable even with painful stimulus	Intervention often required	Frequently inadequate	May be impaired

Adapted with permission from Annals of Emergency Medicine. 28 Copyright 2011, Elsevier.