Anaesthesia
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Sedation is an essential part of the management of the critically ill child, and its monitoring must be individualised and continuous in order to adjust drug doses according to the clinical state. There is no ideal method for evaluating sedation in the critically ill child. Haemodynamic variables have not been found to be useful. ⋯ The main indications for the use of these methods are in patients with deep sedation and/or neuromuscular blockade. The bispectral index is the most widely used method at the present time. Analysis and comparison of the efficacy of the different methods for evaluating sedation in the critically ill child is required.
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Mild induced hypothermia improves neurological outcome and reduces mortality among initially comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Similar pathological processes occur in the heart and the brain, namely ischaemia followed by reperfusion injury. ⋯ There are variable reports of harm to the myocardium caused by mild induced hypothermia, including reduced myocardial contractility and cardiac output, electrocardiographic changes and arrhythmias, especially bradycardia. These harmful effects are reversible with rewarming.