ReviewSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2020
Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to promote sleep in intensive care units: a critical review.
Review in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Efficacy of Eye Masks and Earplugs Interventions for Sleep Promotion in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of the orexin receptor antagonist, suvorexant, on sleep architecture in the early postoperative period following cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Trial
- Effects of Dexmedetomidine Nasal Sprays on Postoperative Sleep Quality in Patients Who Underwent Laparoscopic Gynaecological Surgery: A Single-Centre, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Study.Drug design, development and therapy · 2025Trial
- A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study of dexmedetomidine on postoperative sleep quality in patients with endoscopic sinus surgery.BMC anesthesiology · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Patient-Directed Interactive Music Therapy on Sleep Quality in Postoperative Elderly Patients: A Randomized-Controlled Trial.Nature and science of sleep · 2020Trial
- Sleep physiology and critical illness: A narrative review.Journal of the Intensive Care Society · 2026Review
- Article
- Article
- Dexmedetomidine Alleviates Hippocampal Tissue Damage in Rapid Eye Movement Sleep-Deprived Rats by Activating BDNF/TrkB Signaling Pathway.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Article
- Sleep Quality and Its Predictors among Dyspnea, Fatigue and Exercise Capacity in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.Acta Cardiologica Sinica · 2024Article
- Sleep, anxiety, depression, and stress in critically ill patients: a descriptive study in a Portuguese intensive care unit.Acute and critical care · 2024Article
- Night-to-night associations between light exposure and sleep health.Journal of sleep research · 2023Article
- Sleep deprivation and NLRP3 inflammasome: Is there a causal relationship?Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Review
- Is there a role for melatonin in the ICU?The Southern African journal of critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Society · 2021Review
- Development and Validation of a Clinical Prediction Model for Sleep Disorders in the ICU: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Article
- Article
- Practices for promoting sleep in intensive care units in Brazil: a national survey.Revista Brasileira de terapia intensiva · 2020Article
- Sleep Promotion among Critically Ill Patients: Earplugs/Eye Mask versus Ocean Sound-A Randomized Controlled Trial Study.Critical care research and practice · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeAlthough it is generally recognized that poor sleep is common in the intensive care unit (ICU), it is still unclear which interventions can effectively improve sleep in this setting. In this review, we critically analyze the various pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures that have been proposed to tackle this problem.
methodsA search of MEDLINE/PubMed, SciELO, and the Brazilian Virtual Library in Health (LILACS and BNDEF) databases was performed. Results were reviewed and 41 articles on pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to promote sleep in ICU were analyzed.
resultsNon-pharmacological interventions including eye mask and earplugs, bundles to reduce noise and lighting, and organization of patient care were shown to improve subjective and objective sleep quality, although the level of evidence was considered low. Assist-control ventilation was associated with a greater objective sleep quality than spontaneous modes, such as pressure support ventilation and proportional assist ventilation. Among pharmacological interventions, a moderate level of evidence was found for oral melatonin, with increases in both objective and subjective sleep quality. Continuous nocturnal infusion of dexmedetomidine was reported to increase sleep efficiency and favorably modify the sleep pattern, although evidence level was moderate to low.
conclusionsSeveral non-pharmacological and pharmacological measures can be helpful to improve sleep in critical patients. Further high-quality studies are needed to strengthen the evidence base.
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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.