ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
Low-dose clonidine infusion to improve sleep in postoperative patients in the high-dependency unit. A randomised placebo-controlled single-centre trial
Primary resultResult — go to the resultMean difference 100.8 minutes 95% CI 38.2–163.4Authors' conclusion
Among postoperative elective surgical patients admitted to HDU, low-dose non-titrated clonidine, compared to placebo, was associated with longer and subjectively better-quality sleep.
Study context
- Population
- Adult elective surgery high-dependency unit (HDU) patients in a single academic hospital80 analysed
- Participants
- 83 patients
- Comparison
- Clonidine 0.3 μg/kg/h vs saline placebo on the night of surgery
- Clonidinen = 39
- Placebon = 41reference
- Primary endpoint
- Total sleep time measured using a consumer actigraphy/photoplethysmography device
Methodological detailsdouble-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, pilot effectiveness, single-centre
- Double-blind
- Placebo-controlled
- Parallel-group
- Pilot effectiveness
- Single-centre
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Mean difference
100.8 minutes
95% CI 38.2–163.4
P = 0.002
By group
Clonidine vs Placebo
mean difference 100.8 minutes (95% CI 38.2–163.4); P = 0.002
Further findings
Subjective sleep quality
- Clonidine patients reported better sleep overall
Delirium
- Observed in one patient prior to study drug infusion
- 1
- Delirium at the end of the study
- 0
Safety
- Medication ceased due to bradycardia and hypotension · required no additional treatment — Clonidine
- 4 events
Safety outcomes
- Not different between groups
Original publication
Low-dose clonidine infusion to improve sleep in postoperative patients in the high-dependency unit. A randomised placebo-controlled single-centre trial. Intensive Care Med. Published 23 September 2024. doi:10.
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