Dexmedetomidine Versus Propofol for Continuous Sedation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2010-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
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.