Dexmedetomidine Versus Propofol for Continuous Sedation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Summary

Patients in the ICU who need help with their breathing are put onto a machine called a ventilator and are also given a medicine, called a sedative, which helps them to sleep and makes them more comfortable. Propofol is a sedative that is routinely used for these purposes. For most patients the aim of sedation is to make them sleepy but still able to respond to nursing staff (light sedation). Dexmedetomidine is a new sedative for use in intensive care and in this clinical study,dexmedetomidine is compared to propofol. It is thought that dexmedetomidine might be slightly better at allowing patients to be sleepy but still respond to people around them. It also does not appear to affect patient's breathing. The purpose of this study is to test whether dexmedetomidine really does have these advantages compared to propofol. In this study, we hope to show that: dexmedetomidine is at least as good as propofol in helping patients to sleep better and making them more comfortable, and that they are able to communicate and cooperate better with the staff treating them, and that patients treated with dexmedetomidine require a shorter time on the ventilator than those treated with propofol.

Timeline

Start

2007-05

Primary completion

2010-03

Completion

2010-03

Publications

• Turunen H, Jakob SM, Ruokonen E, Kaukonen KM, Sarapohja T, Apajasalo M, Takala J. Dexmedetomidine versus standard care sedation with propofol or midazolam in intensive care: an economic evaluation. Crit Care. 2015 Feb 19;19(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s13054-015-0787-y.
• Jakob SM, Ruokonen E, Grounds RM, Sarapohja T, Garratt C, Pocock SJ, Bratty JR, Takala J; Dexmedetomidine for Long-Term Sedation Investigators. Dexmedetomidine vs midazolam or propofol for sedation during prolonged mechanical ventilation: two randomized controlled trials. JAMA. 2012 Mar 21;307(11):1151-60. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.304.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.