Simple Changes to Emergency Department Workflow Improve Analgesia in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

In 2013 the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) published guidelines for the management of pain and agitation in the intensive care unit (ICU). These guidelines recommend using an analgesia-first strategy in mechanically ventilated patients as well as reducing the use of benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines increase delirium in ICU patients thereby increasing ICU length of stay. We sought to determine whether a simple educational intervention for emergency department (ED) staff, as well as two simple changes in workflow, would improve adherence to the SCCM guidelines