Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Oct 2017
ReviewTreatment of Hyponatremic Encephalopathy in the Critically Ill.
Hyponatremic encephalopathy, symptomatic cerebral edema due to a low osmolar state, is a medical emergency and often encountered in the ICU setting. This article provides a critical appraisal and review of the literature on identification of high-risk patients and the treatment of this life-threatening disorder. ⋯ In patients with hyponatremic encephalopathy exhibiting neurologic manifestations, a bolus of 100 mL of 3% saline, given over 10 minutes, should be promptly administered. The goal of this initial bolus is to quickly treat cerebral edema. If signs persist, the bolus should be repeated in order to achieve clinical remission. However, the total change in serum sodium should not exceed 5 mEq/L in the initial 1-2 hours and 15-20 mEq/L in the first 48 hours of treatment. It has recently been demonstrated in a prospective fashion that 500 mL of 3% saline at an infusion rate of 100 mL per hour can be given safely. It is critical to recognize the early signs of cerebral edema (nausea, vomiting, and headache) and intervene with IV 3% sodium chloride as this is the time to intervene rather than waiting until more severe symptoms develop. Cerebral demyelination is a rare complication of overly rapid correction of hyponatremia. The principal risk factors for cerebral demyelination are correction of the serum sodium more than 25 mEq/L in the first 48 hours of therapy, correction past the point of 140 mEq/L, chronic liver disease, and hypoxic/anoxic episode.
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Critical care medicine · Oct 2017
Admission to Intensive Care for Palliative Care or Potential Organ Donation: Demographics, Circumstances, Outcomes, and Resource Use.
To describe the characteristics, circumstances, change over time, resource use, and outcomes of patients admitted to ICUs in Australia and New Zealand for the purposes of "palliative care of a dying patient" or "potential organ donation," and compare with actively managed ICU patients. ⋯ Patients admitted to ICU to manage end-of-life care represent a small proportion of overall ICU admissions, with an increasing proportion of "potential organ donation" admissions. They have shorter ICU lengths of stay than actively managed patients, suggesting resource use for these patients is not disproportionate.