Table 1.

Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale

Score	Term	Description
4	Combative	Overtly combative or violent; immediate danger to staff
3	Very agitated	Pulls on or removes tube(s) or catheter(s) or has aggressive behavior toward staff
2	Agitated	Frequent nonpurposeful movement or patient-ventilator dyssynchrony
1	Restless	Anxious or apprehensive but movements not aggressive or vigorous
0	Alert and calm
−1	Drowsy	Not fully alert, but has sustained (>10 s) awakening with eye contact to voice
−2	Light sedation	Briefly (<10 s) awakens with eye contact to voice
−3	Moderate sedation	Any movement (but no eye contact) to voice
−4	Deep sedation	No response to voice, but any movement to physical stimulation
−5	Unarousable	No response to voice or physical stimulation

Adapted from Ely EW, et al.: Monitoring sedation status over time in ICU patients: Reliability and validity of the RASS. JAMA 2003; 289: 2983-2991. RASS=Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale