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Rajamani A, Subramaniam A, Lung B, Masters K, Gresham R, Whitehead C, Lowrey J, Seppelt I, Kumar H, Kumar J, Hassan A, Orde S, Bharadwaj PA, Arvind H, Huang S. Remi-fent 1-A pragmatic randomised controlled study to evaluate the feasibility of using remifentanil or fentanyl as sedation adjuncts in mechanically ventilated patients. CRIT CARE RESUSC 2023; 25:216-222. [PMID: 38234321 PMCID: PMC10790007 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccrj.2023.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Objective To evaluate the feasibility of conducting a prospective randomised controlled trial (pRCT) comparing remifentanil and fentanyl as adjuncts to sedate mechanically ventilated patients. Design Single-center, open-labelled, pRCT with blinded analysis. Setting Australian tertiary intensive care unit (ICU). Participants Consecutive adults between June 2020 and August 2021 expected to receive invasive ventilation beyond the next day and requiring opioid infusion were included. Exclusion criteria were pregnant/lactating women, intubation >12 h, or study-drug hypersensitivity. Interventions Open-label fentanyl and remifentanil infusions per existing ICU protocols. Outcomes Primary outcomes were feasibility of recruiting ≥1 patient/week and >90 % compliance, namely no other opioid infusion used during the study period. Secondary outcomes included complications, ICU-, ventilator- and hospital-free days, and mortality (ICU, hospital). Blinded intention-to-treat analysis was performed concealing the allocation group. Results 208 patients were enrolled (mean 3.7 patients/week). Compliance was 80.6 %. More patients developed complications with fentanyl than remifentanil: bradycardia (n = 44 versus n = 21; p < 0.001); hypotension (n = 78 versus n = 53; p < 0.01); delirium (n = 28 versus n = 15; p = 0.001). No differences were seen in ICU (24.3 % versus 27.6 %,p = 0.60) and hospital mortalities (26.2 % versus 30.5 %; p = 0.50). Ventilator-free days were higher with remifentanil (p = 0.01). Conclusions We demonstrated the feasibility of enrolling patients for a pRCT comparing remifentanil and fentanyl as sedation adjuncts in mechanically ventilated patients. We failed to attain the study-opioid compliance target, likely because of patients with complex sedative/analgesic requirements. Secondary outcomes suggest that remifentanil may reduce mechanical ventilation duration and decrease the incidence of complications. An adequately powered multicentric phase 2 study is required to evaluate these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arvind Rajamani
- Nepean Clinical School, University of Sydney, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | | | - Brian Lung
- Department of Anaesthesia, Nepean Hospital, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Kristy Masters
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Rebecca Gresham
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Christina Whitehead
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Julie Lowrey
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Ian Seppelt
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Australia
- Critical Care Division, The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia
| | - Hemant Kumar
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Jayashree Kumar
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Anwar Hassan
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | - Sam Orde
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
| | | | | | - Stephen Huang
- Nepean Clinical School, University of Sydney, Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
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