Nurses’ Perceptions of the Quality of Procedural Sedation in Children Comparing Different Pharmacological Regimens

Nurses play a pivotal role during pediatric procedural sedation and their perspective is an important indicator for the quality of care. The aim of this study is to examine nurses’ satisfaction comparing four different pharmacological regimens used for pediatric sedation outside of the operating room. A prospective observational study was conducted in a third-level pediatric teaching hospital, involving all the nurses with experience in the field of pediatric procedural sedation. A 13-item survey was used to assess the level of nurses’ satisfaction for the quality of sedation with four different analgesic–sedative drugs. Fifty-one questionnaires were completed by pediatric nurses, with a median length of experience of 10 years. Regarding the overall quality of the sedation, the highest median satisfaction scores were observed for propofol (8, IQR 7–9), dexmedetomidine (8, IQR 6–8) and midazolam (8, IQR 7–9). Ketamine (5, IQR 3–7) displayed the lowest score. When asked to rate their level of perceived safety, nurses gave high scores to all the four drugs studied, with no statistically significant difference between them. Non-pharmacological techniques during procedural sedation were judged as important by 38 (74.5%) nurses. According to this sample of pediatric nurses, the best quality of procedural sedation in children outside of the operating room is obtained with propofol, dexmedetomidine and midazolam. During procedural sedation, nurses feel safe overall, regardless of the pharmacological regimen used. Moreover, they highlighted the relevance on non-pharmacological approaches in the preparation of the child for the procedure.