SynthesisPloS one2013
Dexmedetomidine as a sedative agent in critically ill patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 19 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of dexmedetomidine in mechanically ventilated patients with sepsis and septic shock: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Annals of medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The Effect of Dexmedetomidine as a Sedative Agent for Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of dexmedetomidine versus midazolam for premedication in paediatric anaesthesia with sevoflurane: A meta-analysis.The Journal of international medical research · 2017Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Dexmedetomidine as an Adjuvant in Epidural Analgesia and Anesthesia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical drug investigation · 2017Pooled it
- Anti-inflammatory Effects of Perioperative Dexmedetomidine Administered as an Adjunct to General Anesthesia: A Meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2015Pooled it
- Dexmedetomidine versus standard care sedation with propofol or midazolam in intensive care: an economic evaluation.Critical care (London, England) · 2015Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Sleep quality and quantity determined by polysomnography in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients randomized to dexmedetomidine or placebo.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2023Trial
- Efficacy of different dose of dexmedetomidine combined with remifentanil in colonoscopy: a randomized controlled trial.BMC anesthesiology · 2020Trial
- Prevention of etomidate-induced myoclonus during anesthetic induction by pretreatment with dexmedetomidine.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2015Trial
- Preventive effects of perioperative drug injection on postoperative delirium after hip fracture surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.American journal of translational research · 2025Review
- Rapid emergence from dexmedetomidine sedation in Sprague Dawley rats by repurposing an αBMC anesthesiology · 2023Article
- Article
- Dexmedetomidine-Associated Hyperpyrexia in Three Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.Critical care explorations · 2020Article
- Prolonged dexmedetomidine infusion in critically ill adult patients: a retrospective analysis of a large clinical database Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care III.Annals of translational medicine · 2018Article
- Dexmedetomidine protects against oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation injury-induced apoptosis via the p38 MAPK/ERK signalling pathway.The Journal of international medical research · 2018Article
- Dexmedetomidine: Current Role in Burn ICU.Translational medicine @ UniSa · 2017Article
- Is it prime time for alpha2-adrenocepter agonists in the treatment of withdrawal syndromes?Journal of medical toxicology : official journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology · 2014Review
- Dexmedetomidine and propofol total intravenous anesthesia for airway foreign body removal.Irish journal of medical science · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe effect of dexmedetomidine on length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and time to extubation is still unclear. MATERIALS AND
methodsPertinent studies were independently searched in BioMedCentral, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of clinical trials (updated February first 2013). Randomized studies (dexmedetomidine versus any comparator) were included if including patients mechanically ventilated in an intensive care unit (ICU). Co-primary endpoints were the length of ICU stay (days) and time to extubation (hours). Secondary endpoint was mortality rate at the longest follow-up available.
resultsThe 27 included manuscripts (28 trials) randomized 3,648 patients (1,870 to dexmedetomidine and 1,778 to control). Overall analysis showed that the use of dexmedetomidine was associated with a significant reduction in length of ICU stay (weighted mean difference (WMD) = -0.79 [-1.17 to -0.40] days, p for effect <0.001) and of time to extubation (WMD = -2.74 [-3.80 to -1.65] hours, p for effect <0.001). Mortality was not different between dexmedetomidine and controls (risk ratio = 1.00 [0.84 to 1.21], p for effect = 0.9). High heterogeneity between included studies was found.
conclusionsThis meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies suggests that dexmedetomidine could help to reduce ICU stay and time to extubation, in critically ill patients even if high heterogeneity between studies might confound the interpretation of these results.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.