The Safety and Effectiveness of Dexmedetomidine When Used for More Than 24 Hours in an Adult Intensive Care Setting

Abstract

Dexmedetomidine is a new analgesic and anxiolytic used in the intensive care setting. It has been indicated for use for less than 24 hours to aid in intubation or extubation of a patient. The advantages for dexmedetomidine compared with propofol or benzodiazepines are that it has fewer sedating effects and a short half-life. Several retrospective studies and case reports have reported its use longer than the indicated 24 hours. They reported that dexmedetomidine is safe to use past the 24-hour indicated time of use, with the same or fewer adverse side effects reported.

Keywords

Dexmedetomidine hypnotics and sedatives non-narcotic analgesics intensive care units time factors adult humans.

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