Introduction:

non-conventional sedatives and those off-label, such as inhaled anesthetics, were used due to the shortage of medicines during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Objectives:

to compare the cost and results obtained with the use of inhaled anesthetics versus intravenous sedatives in COVID-19.

Material and methods:

retrospective study in a public reference hospital ICU. A calculation of sedation costs was made of the first two days of ICU stay. Drug doses were taken from the clinical records and acquisition costs directly from CompraNet. Mean costs per medication and per group are compared.

Results:

of 151 patients, 81 received intravenous sedation and 70 received inhaled anesthesia with or without intravenous sedatives. There was no difference in mortality, days of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay, and hospital stay between groups. A significant reduction in costs derived from the less use of midazolam, propofol and dexmedetomidine (p < 0.0001), and a difference between means of total sedation costs of $4,108.42 Mexican pesos per patient per day was observed with inhaled anesthesia.

Conclusions:

inhaled anesthesia during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to intravenous sedation allowed a cost reduction in the first two days of ICU stay.