SynthesisBMJ open2016
Pharmacological interventions to improve sleep in hospitalised adults: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 6 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 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.
Impact of Low-Dose Dexmedetomidine on Sleep Quality in Mechanical Ventilation Patients After Surgery in Intensive Care Unit: a Pilot Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Impact of Low-dose Dexmedetomidine on Outcomes of Elderly Admitted to ICU After Noncardiac Surgery: a Randomized Controlled Trial
A Multicomponent Intervention for Prevention and Treatment of Sleep Disturbances in a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit: A Before-After, Randomized, Controlled Trial
Impact of Night-time Dexmedetomidine-esketamine Infusion on Sleep Quality of Patients With Mechanical Ventilation or High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy in ICU: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Dexmedetomidine-Esketamine Combination for Sedation and Analgesia on Delirium in ICU Patients With Mechanical Ventilation: A Multicenter Randomized Trial
Effect of Sedation With Dexmedetomidine-esketamine Combination on Delirium in Postoperative ICU Patients: a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dietary Supplement Interventions and Sleep Quality Improvement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Acupressure on Sleep Quality Among Inpatients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nursing & health sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Low-dose clonidine infusion to improve sleep in postoperative patients in the high-dependency unit. A randomised placebo-controlled single-centre trial.Intensive care medicine · 2024Trial
- Article
- A pilot, parallel-group, blinded, placebo-controlled, randomiseCritical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2026Article
- Exogenous Melatonin and Sleep Quality: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews.Journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- Evidence-based sleep promotion in acute care from the perspective of nursing staff: a cross-sectional study.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Adapting and implementing a staff-led sleep intervention in an acute rehabilitation setting.Clinical rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Sleep and Stroke-An Overlooked Bidirectional Influence: Why Should Sleep and Vascular Neurologists Work Closer?Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Optimizing Sleep Disorder Management in Hospitalized Patients: Practical Approach for Healthcare Providers.Brain and behavior · 2025Review
- Sleep Quality of Patients on a General Department During the First Days of Hospitalization.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Article
- A multicentre point prevalence study of nocturnal hours awake and enteral pharmacological sleep aids in patients admitted to Australian and New Zealand intensive care units.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Things We Do for No Reason™: Pharmacological sleep aids for hospitalized patients with acute insomnia.Journal of hospital medicine · 2024Article
- Unveiling the sleep-cardiovascular connection: Novel perspectives and interventions-A narrative review.Health science reports · 2023Article
- Opioid and Sedative Coprescription: Prescribing Patterns after an ICU Admission.The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy · 2023Article
- Melatonin for Insomnia in Medical Inpatients: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Evaluation of Nonpharmacologic Interventions and Sleep Outcomes in Hospitalized Medical and Surgical Patients: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Group Intervention for Chinese University Students with Sleep Problems.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Sleep Well and Recover Faster with Less Pain-A Narrative Review on Sleep in the Perioperative Period.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPatients often suffer from disturbed sleep in hospital. Poor-quality sleep in hospitalised patients has been associated with significant morbidity and pharmacological sleep aids are often prescribed. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety of pharmacological interventions used for sleep in hospitalised patients. SETTING/
participantsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane database and grey literature for prospective studies that evaluated sleep in hospitalised adults after a pharmacological intervention. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Two reviewers assessed studies for inclusion and extracted data for efficacy outcomes, including sleep efficiency, sleep latency, sleep fragmentation and objectively measured sleep stage distribution. Risk of bias was assessed and meta-analyses were planned contingent upon homogeneity of the included studies.
resultsAfter screening 1920 citations, 15 studies involving 861 patients were included. Medications studied included benzodiazepines, nonbenzodiazepine sedatives, melatonin, propofol and dexmedetomidine. Five studies were deemed to be of high quality. Heterogeneity and variable outcome reporting precluded meta-analysis in most cases. No consistent trends with respect to sleep efficiency, quality or interruptions were observed identifying a drug or drug class as superior to another or no treatment. Benzodiazepines appeared to be better than no treatment with respect to sleep latency, but this was not consistently demonstrated across all studies. Sleep stage distribution shows that sleep in hospital is dominated by stages N1 and N2.
conclusionsThere is insufficient evidence to suggest that pharmacotherapy improves the quality or quantity of sleep in hospitalised patients suffering from poor sleep. No drug class or specific drug was identified as superior even when compared to placebo or no treatment. Although 15 studies were included, the quality of evidence was limited by their quality and size. Larger, better-designed trials in hospitalised adults are needed.
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.