ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
Clinical sedation assessment versus EEG-based monitoring during deep sedation in VV-ECMO patients: A prospective blinded observational study
Authors' conclusion
Processed EEG revealed a substantial burden of burst suppression during deep VV-ECMO sedation despite uniform behavioural targets. Within this deep sedation range, RASS had limited resolution for quantifying cortical suppression.
Study context
- Population
- Adult VV-ECMO patients with severe ARDS under deep sedation (Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) target −4)467 paired RASS-EEG observations
- Participants
- 20 patients
- Exposure
- Hourly RASS assessment vs blinded EEG monitoring
- Outcome
- Burst suppression burden (BSR) and its relation to hourly RASS
- Follow-up
- 24 h
Methodological detailsblinded EEG monitoring, 24-h monitoring, linear mixed-effects models
- Blinded EEG monitoring
- 24-h monitoring
- Linear mixed-effects models
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Burst suppression burden
- Burst suppression in all patients
- 20
- Time-weighted average burst suppression ratio (BSR), median (IQR 2.1-30.8)
- 7.3%
- Maximum BSR (IQR 6.2-71.2)
- 27.9%
- Time with BSR ≥ 5%, median (IQR 12.5-96.9)
- 37.7%
- Change in BSR per 1-point RASS increase
- 3.31% decrease (95% CI - 5.60 to −1.01; p = 0.005)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
BSR at RASS −4
- Observations with BSR ≥5%
- 64.5%
- Observations with BSR ≥10%
- 51.7%
qCON and BSR
- Lower qCON associated with greater burst suppression; BSR approaching zero above qCON ≈40
Original publication
Clinical sedation assessment versus EEG-based monitoring during deep sedation in VV-ECMO patients: A prospective blinded observational study. Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med. Published 5 May 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →