COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SEDATION PROTOCOLS IN MECHANICALLY VENTILATED ICU PATIENTS

Abstract

The purpose of the study was the comparison of the effectiveness and safety of various sedation regimes among the intubated patients in intensive care (ICU) units.  We analyzed sedation strategies i.e. light sedation, profound sedation and no sedation to determine the effect of each of these on patient outcome i.e. ventilation time, level of sedation, delirium rate and haemodynamic stability.  It was a multicenter, randomised controlled trial, that entailed 200 patients under mechanical ventilation and were critically ill.  We found that light sedation was very effective in lowering the time of mechanical ventilation than deep sedation with no increase in delirium rate.  The patients under light sedation were also more haemodynamically stable as well as fewer cases of ventilator induced pneumonia.  However, severe sedation, on the contrary, was linked with the longer ICUization and the higher chance of developing complications like decreasing blood pressure and breathing problems.  The existing study demonstrates that the light sedation guidelines are not only safe but might be utilized to enhance the outcomes by decreasing ICU hospitalization, ventilation-dependent, and associated concerns.  These results indicate the necessity of the existence of individualised guidelines on sedation depending on the clinical condition of patients in the ICUs.