Sedation with dexmedetomidine was not associated with reduced mortality or ventilator-free days in ventilated patients with sepsis, according to research described on Physician’s Briefing.
Yu Kawazoe, MD, PhD, from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan, and colleagues randomized patients to receive sedation with or without dexmedetomidine (100 and 101 patients, respectively).
The researchers observed no significant difference in mortality at 28 days in the dexmedetomidine versus the control group (22.8 versus 30.8 percent; hazard ratio, 0.69; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.38 to 1.22; P = 0.20). There was no significant between-group difference in ventilator-free days over 28 days (median, 20 versus 18; P = 0.20). The rate of well-controlled sedation during mechanical ventilation was significantly higher for the dexmedetomidine group (range, 17 to 58 percent versus 20 to 39 percent; P = 0.01); there were no significant between-group differences in other outcomes. Adverse outcomes occurred in 8 and 3 percent of patients in the dexmedetomidine and control groups, respectively.
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