Inhalation sedation with the MIRUS System has proven to be particularly useful in the management of patients throughout different disciplines.

“We are excited and certainly proud of having been granted the opportunity to showcase the MIRUS system, especially within the public health sphere where the value of the sedation technology can be put to good use” said Dahlhausen South Africa’s Managing Director Renette Julies.

Questioned about the impact and effectiveness of the new sedation technology in practice, Prof Ivan Joubert, Head of the Critical Care at Groote Schuur Hospital, and first to procure a MIRUS Sedation System, said “the quality of sedation is superb and readily and rapidly titrated to the desired endpoint.”

What are the benefits of the system?

Volatile sedation has been around and used in Europe for approximately 8 to 10 years and significantly reduces the chance of organ damage. The MIRUS System provides sedation for all intubated patients, which is ideal for both short- and long-term sedation as well as accurate control and titration of sedation levels.

Besides directly benefitting the patient, it also indirectly assists in improved bed retention management in hospitals as patient post-op recovery rates are reduced and almost immediate. As pressure mounts on healthcare organisations, hospitals, medical aids and other market participants with limited resources, these and many other health and cost benefits can no longer be ignored from a cost management perspective.

In many public and rural hospital settings, resources are scarce and open hospital beds are in constant demand. With quicker recovery rates, hospital management is able to process more patients on any given day, clear ICUs at rates far greater than would normally be the case with standard intravenous sedation protocols.

One advantage is the closed and safe filling system which means staff do not come into contact with the anaesthetic gas. In addition, excess exhaled gas is disposed of via a scavenger system which means the system promotes workplace safety.

Independent monitoring, via the MAC pilot function of the ventilation parameters, means the system can maintain the sedation depth, this as many anaesthetists will tell you, saves a lot of time and improves safety.

A number of important benefits of inhaled sedation include:

• Shortened and predictable recovery times.
• Quicker transfer from the intensive care to step down units.
• Reduction of the length of stay.
• Lowered treatment and additional costs due to lower incidences of delirium.

Another practical benefit for both public, private hospitals and clinics are that the MIRUS™ System can be combined with commonly used intensive care ventilators by means of a universal interface designed to provide connectivity to the existing patient data management system.

Besides the user and operator advantages as discussed above, the system further also a number of medical benefits to patients, including:

• Organ protection
• Controllable sedation depth
• No cumulative effect or development of tolerance

Contact Keshani Naidoo at Keshani.naidoo@dahlhausen.co.za or phone +27 78 461 9871 or +27 11 465 2998 for more information.