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Table 1 Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of the Patients at Baseline

From: Stress response during early sedation with dexmedetomidine compared with usual-care in ventilated critically ill patients

 

Dexmedetomidine (n = 51)

Usual care (n = 52)

Age at randomisation (y), Mean (SD)

61 (15.9)

66.6 (10.5)

Male sex, n (%)

30 (58.8)

33 (63.5)

Weight (kg), Mean (SD)

86.5 (20.2)

90.3 (20.7)

APACHE II score pre-randomisation, Mean (SD)§

20.3 (7.91)

21.5 (6.91)

Sepsis, n (%)

33 (64.7)

33 (63.5)

Admission source

 Emergency department, n (%)

16 (31.4)

20 (38.5)

 Hospital floor/ward, n (%)

12 (23.5)

14 (26.9)

 Transfer from another ICU, n (%)

0 (0)

1 (1.9)

 Transfer from another hospital, (except from another ICU), n (%)

11 (21.6)

10 (19.2)

Operating Theatre/Recovery following EMERGENCY surgery, n (%)

11 (21.6)

7 (13.5)

Operating Theatre /Recovery following ELECTIVE surgery, n (%)

1 (2)

0 (0)

APACHE III Diagnosis†‡

 Respiratory, n (%)

25 (49)

19 (36.5)

 Sepsis, n (%)

9 (17.6)

11 (21.2)

 Gastrointestinal, n (%)

8 (15.7)

13 (25)

 Cardiovascular, n (%)

2 (3.9)

3 (5.8)

 Trauma, n (%)

4 (7.8)

4 (7.7)

 Neurological, n (%)

1 (2)

0 (0)

 Metabolic or endocrine disorder, n (%)

0 (0)

1 (1.9)

 Renal, n (%)

0 (0)

0 (0)

 Haematological, n (%)

1 (2)

0 (0)

 Musculoskeletal or skin disorder, n (%)

1 (2)

0 (0)

 Other, n (%)

0 (0)

1 (1.9)

RASS prior to randomisation, Median [IQR]**

− 3 [− 5 to − 2]

− 4 [− 5 to − 2]

Received dexmedetomidine prior to randomisation, n (%)

1 (2.1)

0 (0)

Received midazolam prior to randomisation, n (%)

16 (33.3)

17 (35.4)

Received propofol prior to randomisation, n (%)

32 (66.7)

35 (72.9)

  1. APACHE Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation, RASS Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale
  2. Plus-minus values are ± SD. Listed are available baseline data for patients in the two groups who did not withdraw consent. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the trial groups except for age (p = 0.04). Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding. ICU denotes intensive care unit, and IQR interquartile range
  3. §The APACHE II score is a prediction tool for death and measures severity of disease in the ICU; scores range from 0 to 71, with higher scores indicating a greater severity of illness
  4. †Conditions are listed according to the major disease categories in the APACHE III diagnostic codes
  5. ‡Patients with suspected or proven sepsis at randomisation may have been assigned to other APACHE III diagnostic categories, such as pneumonia and respiratory disorder
  6. **The Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (RASS) is a tool to assess depth of sedation on a scale of − 5 to + 4, with negative values denoting increased sedation and positive values denoting increased agitation
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Critical Care

ISSN: 1364-8535