Respiratory failure & ventilation
Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract during Ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
Primary result · In-hospital deathResult — go to the resultOdds ratio 0.94 95% CI 0.84–1.05Authors' conclusion
Among critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation, SDD did not result in a lower incidence of in-hospital death than standard care.
Study context
- Population
- Mechanically ventilated patients in 26 ICUs in Australia and Canada
- Participants
- 9,289 participants · 26 ICUs
- Comparison
- SDD vs standard care
- SDDn = 4,215
- Standard caren = 5,065reference
- Primary endpoint
- In-hospital death from any cause
- Follow-up
- 90 days
Methodological detailstwo 12-month periods, ecologic assessment, noninferiority (ecologic microbiologic outcomes)
- Two 12-month periods
- Ecologic assessment
- Noninferiority (ecologic microbiologic outcomes)
Primary result
In-hospital death
Odds ratio
0.94
95% CI 0.84–1.05
P = 0.27
Events by treatment group
SDD vs Standard care
OR 0.94 (95% CI 0.84–1.05); P = 0.27
As reported in the abstract
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | SDD | Standard care | Adjusted mean difference (percentage points) (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New bloodstream infections | 4.9% | 6.8% | −1.30 (−2.55 to −0.05) | |
| Antibiotic-resistant organisms cultured | 16.8% | 26.8% | −9.60 (−12.40 to −6.80) | |
| −15−10−505Difference, percentage points (linear scale) |
New antibiotic-resistant organisms (ecologic assessment, n = 10,711)
- Noninferiority of SDD not confirmed
- Noninferiority margin, 2 percentage points
Safety
Serious adverse events
| Outcome | SDD | Standard care |
|---|---|---|
| Adverse events related to SDD or standard care | 0.3% | 0 events |
Original publication
Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract during Ventilation in the ICU. N Engl J Med. Published 29 October 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →