Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Aug 2022)
Efficacy and Safety of Remimazolam Besylate versus Dexmedetomidine for Sedation in Non-Intubated Older Patients with Agitated Delirium After Orthopedic Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract
Yang Deng,1 Zhijun Qin,1 Qianyun Wu,2 Linsong Liu,1 Xi Yang,1 Xuan Ju,1 Ying Zhang,1 Lei Liu3 1Intensive Care Unit, Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China; 2Nursing Department, Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Infection Control, Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhijun Qin, Intensive Care Unit, Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, No. 132, West First Section, First Ring Road, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-18708499493, Email [email protected]: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of remimazolam besylate compared with dexmedetomidine for the relief of agitated delirium in non-intubated older patients after orthopedic surgery.Patients and methods: Seventy-five patients were randomly divided into two groups. Patients assigned to the remimazolam group received a loading dose of 0.075 mg/kg remimazolam besylate over 1 minute, followed by a continuous infusion of 0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg/h. Subjects randomized to the dexmedetomidine group received a loading infusion of 0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine over 10 minutes, followed by a maintenance dose of 0.2 to 0.7 μg/kg/h. Meanwhile, RASS score-guided dose titration was followed. To assess the efficacy of the study drugs in terms of time to resolution of agitation, time to first achievement of target sedation, percentage of time within the target sedation range, and time to delirium resolution. Safety of the sedatives was evaluated by adverse events during hospitalization.Results: Time to resolution of agitation did not differ between the two groups. The time to first achievement of target sedation was 19.0 (9.5 to 31.0) minutes for remimazolam besylate vs 43.5 (15.0 to 142.5) minutes for dexmedetomidine (P < 0.001). Percentage of time within the target sedation range was 77.8% for remimazolam besylate-treated patients and 67.4% for dexmedetomidine-treated patients (P = 0.001). Patients in the remimazolam group had longer time to delirium resolution (29.5 [21.3 to 32.5] hours) than those in the dexmedetomidine group (22.8 [18.9 to 28.5] hours) (P = 0.042). Patients sedated with remimazolam besylate had more oversedation (P = 0.036) but less hypotension (P = 0.007).Conclusion: Compared with dexmedetomidine, remimazolam besylate was equally effective in relieving agitation, and resulted in earlier achievement of sedation goal and more controllable sedation. Remimazolam may be an ideal agent for obtaining rapid tranquillisation.Graphical Abstract: Keywords: remimazolam besylate, dexmedetomidine, older adult, orthopedics, agitation, delirium
