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. 2025 Aug 22;15:30937. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-14180-z

Table 2.

Primary and secondary outcome analysis for Dexmedetomidine use on mortality and ICU outcomes.

Method In-Hospital Mortality ICU Mortality Vasopressor-Free in 28 Days Ventilation-Free in 28 Days
HR (95% CI) P HR (95% CI) P MD (95% CI) P MD (95% CI) P
Unadjusted (Crude) 0.55 (0.47 ~ 0.65) < 0.001 0.42 (0.35 ~ 0.51) < 0.001

−0.63

(−1.34 ~ 0.07)

0.08

−1.74

(−2.44~−1.03)

< 0.001
Multivariable Adjusted 0.41 (0.35 ~ 0.48) < 0.001 0.34 (0.28 ~ 0.41) < 0.001 2.67 (2.02 ~ 3.33) < 0.001 2.24 (1.6 ~ 2.88) < 0.001
PSA 0.4 (0.34 ~ 0.48) < 0.001 0.33 (0.27 ~ 0.4) < 0.001 2.39 (1.63 ~ 3.15) < 0.001 1.95 (1.2 ~ 2.69) < 0.001
PSM 0.37 (0.31 ~ 0.45) < 0.001 0.3 (0.25 ~ 0.38) < 0.001 3.18 (2.19 ~ 4.17) < 0.001 2.79 (1.83 ~ 3.75) < 0.001
IPTW 0.49 (0.41 ~ 0.58) < 0.001 0.36 (0.29 ~ 0.44) < 0.001

0.75

(−0.02 ~ 1.52)

0.056

0.3

(−0.46 ~ 1.07)

0.442
SMRW

0.34

(0.3 ~ 0.4)

< 0.001 0.28 (0.23 ~ 0.33) < 0.001 4.03 (3.2 ~ 4.86) < 0.001 3.6 (2.8 ~ 4.41) < 0.001
PA 0.38 (0.31 ~ 0.46) < 0.001 0.29 (0.23 ~ 0.36) < 0.001 3.05 (2.51 ~ 3.6) < 0.001 2.7 (2.18 ~ 3.23) < 0.001
OW 0.39 (0.31 ~ 0.49) < 0.001 0.3 (0.23 ~ 0.39) < 0.001 2.61 (2.07 ~ 3.14) < 0.001 2.21 (1.69 ~ 2.74) < 0.001
Doubly Robust 0.41 (0.35 ~ 0.48) < 0.001 0.34 (0.28 ~ 0.41) < 0.001 2.64 (1.98 ~ 3.3) < 0.001 2.23 (1.59 ~ 2.86) < 0.001

Analyses evaluated the association between dexmedetomidine use during ICU stay and primary outcomes (in-hospital and ICU mortality, reported as HR) and secondary outcomes (28-day vasopressor- and ventilation-free days, reported as MD). Methods included crude analysis, multivariable adjustment, propensity score–based approaches (adjustment, matching, and weighting: IPTW, SMRW, PA, OW), and doubly robust estimation. HR, hazard ratio; MD, mean difference; IPTW, inverse probability of treatment weighting; SMRW, standardized mortality ratio weighting; PA, pairwise algorithmic; OW, overlap weighting.