After a 5-year, 13-center, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, results of the MENDS II (Maximizing the Efficacy of Sedation and Reducing Neurological Dysfunction and Mortality in Septic Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure) study have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Importantly, the authors found that “dexmedetomidine and propofol have similar efficacy with regard to acute brain dysfunction, mechanical ventilation requirement, and mortality when light sedation goals and the ABCDE bundle are used to care for critically ill mechanically ventilated adults with sepsis” - findings critical to the care of COVID-19 patients in the ICU. Read the full article on NEJM. Study authors include Michael Gropper, MD, PhD, the former Director of Critical Care Medicine and current Chair of the Anesthesia and Perioperative Care Department at UCSF.