Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Sep 2008
Immediate and 5-year cumulative outcome after paediatric intensive care in Sweden.
Little has been reported about intensive care of children in Sweden. The aims of this study are to (I) assess the number of admissions, types of diagnoses and length-of-stay (LOS) for all Swedish children admitted to intensive care during the years 1998-2001, and compare paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) with other intensive care units (adult ICUs) (II) assess immediate (ICU) and cumulative 5-year mortality and (III) determine the actual consumption of paediatric intensive care for the defined age group in Sweden. ⋯ This study has shown that Sweden has a low immediate ICU mortality, similar in adult ICU and PICU. Patients discharged alive from an ICU had a 20-fold increased mortality risk, compared with a control cohort for the 5-year period. Less than half of the paediatric patients admitted for intensive care in Sweden were cared for in a PICU. Studies are needed to evaluate whether a centralization of paediatric intensive care in Sweden would be beneficial to the paediatric population.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Sep 2008
Clinical TrialEffect of pulsed radiofrequency for postherpetic neuralgia.
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is one of the most intractable pain disorders, particularly among elderly patients. Lesioning of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) using pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) has shown pain reduction for PHN. We assessed the efficacy of PRF lesioning of DRG for PHN via an open, nonrandomized study. ⋯ PRF lesioning of DRG showed significant pain relief compared with the conventional treatments in patients with intractable PHN. In order to elucidate the mode of action of PRF, further research is needed and the optimal electrical parameters of PRF have to be determined.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Sep 2008
Performance of electrical impedance tomography in detecting regional tidal volumes during one-lung ventilation.
Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is becoming a new medical imaging modality for continuous monitoring of regional lung function in the intensive care unit or operating room. The aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of EIT in detecting regional tidal volumes in patients during volume-controlled mechanical ventilation of one or both lungs. ⋯ Although good separation of the ventilated and non-ventilated sides of the chest was possible, the data indicate that reliable quantification of regional tidal volumes during asymmetric or inhomogeneous distribution patterns requires regions-of-interest analysis.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Sep 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialFentanyl-induced cough does not depend on injection speed: a randomized study.
The aim of the study was to investigate whether the incidence of cough after intravenous fentanyl depends on the speed of injection. ⋯ Under the conditions of our study, the incidence of cough after 1.5 microg/kg fentanyl injected intravenously over 2, 5 or 10 s was between 3% and 6%, unrelated to the speed of injection and not different from placebo.