Sedation vs No Sedation in Mechanically Ventilated COPD Patients

Mechanical ventilation is a stressful experience for critically ill patients, often associated with pain, discomfort, and anxiety due to invasive procedures, environmental factors, and underlying disease. Sedation is commonly used in intensive care units to improve patient comfort and tolerance to mechanical ventilation. However, excessive sedation has been associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation, longer ICU stay, and increased complications. Daily interruption of sedation (DIS) has been introduced to reduce sedation-related complications and improve outcomes. Recent trends support minimizing sedation and promoting patient comfort using alternative approaches. However, the optimal sedation strategy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains unclear, especially in those with hypercapnic respiratory failure, where sedative drugs may worsen respiratory depression. This study is a prospective randomized controlled trial conducted in the respiratory intensive care unit at Al-Azhar University Hospital, Assiut, Egypt 100 adult patients with COPD exacerbation requiring invasive mechanical ventilation will be enrolled and randomly assigned into two groups: Group A (control group): Patients will receive sedation using midazolam infusion with daily interruption guided by the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS). Group B (intervention group): Patients will be managed with a no-sedation protocol. Sedation will only be administered if clinically indicated due to agitation or discomfort. All patients will receive standard medical treatment for COPD and will be monitored clinically and by laboratory and radiological investigations. Weaning from mechanical ventilation will be performed according to standard criteria. The primary outcome is ventilator-free days. Secondary outcomes include ICU length of stay, incidence of complications, difficulty of weaning, and nursing workload. Ethical approval has been obtained, and informed consent will be secured from patients or their legal representatives before enrollment.