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Professional Technical IVT

PAED scale

Also written as: PAED — Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium

Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium scale - a validated assessment tool for measuring emergence delirium severity in children.

Full Definition

The Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium (PAED) scale is a validated 5-item behavioral assessment tool designed to measure the presence and severity of emergence delirium in children recovering from general anesthesia. The scale evaluates eye contact, purposeful actions, awareness of surroundings, restlessness, and inconsolability. Each item is scored from 0-4, with total scores ≥10 indicating emergence delirium. The PAED scale has become the gold standard for both clinical assessment and research evaluation of emergence delirium in pediatric anesthesia practice.

Usage

Usage note: Always capitalize PAED when referring to the scale. Distinguish from PADSS (discharge scoring system).

In Context

  • "The child's PAED scale score of 12 confirmed the presence of emergence delirium requiring intervention." — Recovery room assessment
  • "Nursing staff were trained to use the PAED scale for standardized assessment of postoperative agitation." — Training documentation

Also known as

emergence delirium scale

Don't confuse with

PADSS Richmond Agitation Scale FLACC scale

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