Association Between Sex and Race and Ethnicity and IV Sedation Use in Patients Receiving Invasive Ventilation

Background

IV sedation is an important tool for managing patients receiving invasive ventilation, yet excess sedation is harmful, and dosing could be influenced by implicit bias.

Research Question

What are the associations between sex or race and ethnicity and sedation practices?

Study Design and Methods

We performed a retrospective single-center cohort study of adults receiving invasive ventilation for ≥ 24 hours using the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Version IV (2008-2019) database from Boston, Massachusetts. We used a repeated-measures design (4-hour intervals) to study the association between sex (female or male) or race and ethnicity (Asian, Black, Hispanic, White) and sedation outcomes. Sedation outcomes included sedative use (propofol, benzodiazepine, dexmedetomidine) and minimum sedation score. We categorized sedative use as follows: no sedative and then lowest, second, third, and highest quartiles of sedative dose. We adjusted for covariates with multilevel Bayesian proportional odds modeling and reported ORs with 95% credible intervals (CrIs).

Results

We studied 6,764 patients: 43% female; 3.5% Asian, 12% Black, 4.5% Hispanic, and 80% White. Benzodiazepines were administered to 2,334 patients (36%). Black patients received benzodiazepines less often and at lower doses than White patients (more benzodiazepine: OR, 0.66; 95% CrI, 0.49-0.92). Propofol was administered to 3,865 patients (57%). Female patients received propofol less often and at lower doses than male patients (more propofol: OR, 0.72; 95% CrI, 0.61-0.86). Dexmedetomidine was administered to 1,439 patients (21%), and use was similar across sex or race and ethnicity. Female patients were less sedated than male patients (deeper sedation: OR, 0.71; 95% CrI, 0.62-0.81), and Black patients were more sedated than White patients (more sedated: OR, 1.28; 95% CrI, 1.05-1.55).

Interpretation

Among patients receiving invasive ventilation for at least 24 hours, IV sedation and attained sedation levels varied by sex and by race and ethnicity. Adherence to sedation guidelines may improve equity in sedation management for critically ill patients.