Conditions: Brain Injury Intracranial Pressure
Keywords: Brain Injury
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Enrollment: 8
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to evaluate brain injury when two different drugs (propofol and precedex) are used to sedate patients who need a neurologic exam.

Detailed description:
The hypothesis is that a neurologic exam performed when the subject has continuous infusion of precedex will result in less brain injury (where the lactate/pyruvate ratio indicates injury) then when a neurologic exam is performed on subjects receiving propofol, because that exam requires that the propofol infusion be stopped.

Arms:
arm 1: Patients received an infusion of precedex for six hours and then a washout and then a propofol infusion for six hours. arm 2: Patients received an infusion of propofol for six hours and then a washout and then a precedex infusion for six hours.

Interventions: intervention 1: Dexmedetomidine intervention 2: Propofol
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: in this crossover study, subjects will receive 6 hours of propofol and 6 hours of precedex (randomized crossover) intervention 2: in this crossover study, subjects will receive 6 hours of propofol and 6 hours of precedex (randomized crossover)

Protocol document: