Deep Sedation in ICU Linked to Loss of Independent Living

MONDAY, Oct. 20, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For mechanically ventilated patients who lived independently before intensive care unit (ICU) admission, a high proportion of time spent in deep sedation is associated with loss of independent living, according to a study published online Oct. 11 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Karuna Wongtangman, M.D., from the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine whether medication-induced deep sedation is associated with loss of independent living in adults who were mechanically ventilated for at least 24 hours in any of 20 ICUs.

The researchers found that 62.4 percent of the 10,204 patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation had a loss of independent living. There was an association for a high proportion of medication-induced deep sedation versus no medication-induced deep sedation with an increased risk for loss of independent living (adjusted risk ratio, 1.18). A total of 30,022 episodes of emotional distress were documented. The risk for loss of independent living was reduced in association with having a high proportion of emotional distress versus no emotional distress (adjusted risk ratio, 0.88). There was an association for absence of patient mobility during mechanical ventilation with loss of independent living (adjusted risk ratio, 1.32), which mediated 32.5 percent of the effects of deep sedation on loss of independent living.

“Our hope is that the data published in this investigation will fuel national efforts to improve education about deep sedation and adherence to evidence-based guidelines,” coauthor Matthias Eikermann, M.D., Ph.D., from Montefiore Medical Center, said in a statement.

One author disclosed ties to Merck & Co., and holds two patents.

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