Loading...
Critically ill emergency department (ED) patients are often sedated with benzodiazepines, and treatment with these agents continues in the ICU. These researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind study to compare titrated midazolam and lorazepam infusions for sedation of 24 ventilated, newly postoperative patients in the ICU. The study was partly funded by the manufacturer of midazolam.
Each patient received analgesia with intravenous fentanyl or epidural morphine as needed, and the study drug was titrated to maintain a predefined level of sedation for 12 to 72 hours, as indicated. There were no significant differences between the 10 patients who received midazolam and the 14 who received lorazepam. Average infusion rates were 0.91 mg/hou…