The Withdrawal Assessment Tool to identify iatrogenic withdrawal symptoms in critically ill children

What is it about?

The withdrawal assessment tool (WAT-1) is a commonly used clinician-reported outcome measure used to evaluate iatrogenic withdrawal symptoms in critically ill children. However, to our knowledge, no studies have aggregated the measurement properties of the WAT-1. The aim of this study is to critically appraise and describe the predictability and feasibility of the WAT-1 for identifying iatrogenic withdrawal symptoms in the critically ill pediatric population.

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Why is it important?

Our findings showed that WAT-1 is easy to measure and precise in terms of measuring iatrogenic withdrawal symptoms in critically ill children, despite the inconsistencies and gaps in measurement properties present in the publication record. Our findings also showed that more information is needed to support the content validity, responsiveness, internal consistency, cross-cultural validity, and interpretability of the WAT-1.