NCT01728558 - Dexmedetomidine vs usual care & Critical illness

In an open-label, randomized trial, we enrolled critically ill adults who had been undergoing ventilation for less than 12 hours in the ICU and were expected to continue to receive ventilatory support for longer than the next calendar day to receive dexmedetomidine as the sole or primary sedative or to receive usual care (propofol, midazolam, or other sedatives). The target range of sedation-scores on the Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (which is scored from −5 [unresponsive] to +4 [combative]) was −2 to +1 (lightly sedated to restless).

Primary outcome measures:
Rate of death from any cause at 90 days

The authors' conclusion was: Among patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in the ICU, those who received early dexmedetomidine for sedation had a ra…