Articles: critical-care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effect of prolonged sedation with propofol on serum triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations.
We compared changes in serum lipid concentrations in ICU patients receiving a 3-day continuous infusion of propofol with those in patients receiving conventional sedation. No adverse effects were observed and the serum lipid concentrations were not significantly influenced by propofol. It is concluded that propofol might be a suitable agent for long-term sedation in the ICU, although serum lipid concentrations should be monitored throughout its administration.
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Anaesthesiol Reanim · Jan 1989
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial[A clinical study of selective gut decolonization in 204 long-term ventilated intensive care patients undergoing abdominal and accident surgery].
In a randomized clinical trial the effects of selective digestive decolonization (SDD) on the frequency of pneumonia and sepsis and the rate of lethality as well as the resistance quota and colonization of bacteria were studied in 102 surgical ICU-patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. These patients received non-resorbable antibiotics: 4 x 100 mg of polymyxin B, 4 x 500 mg of amphotericin B, and 4 x 80 mg of tobramycin via gastric tube. One hundred and two patients served as controls. ⋯ A secondary colonization of the oropharynx in patients of the SDD-group could not be observed. 38.8% of the patients in the control group showed potentially pathogenic microorganisms in oropharyngeal swabs. A development of resistance of pseudomonas aeruginosa against tobramycin occurred in 2.3% of the patients in the SDD-group and in 3.1% of the patients in the control group. It can be concluded that the administration of non-resorbable antimicrobials against gram-negative aerobes is an effective method for prevention of potentially fatal pneumonia and sepsis, and for the first time a significant improvement of the survival rate could be demonstrated.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A comparison between a conventional and a fiberoptic flow-directed thermal dilution pulmonary artery catheter in critically ill patients.
Invasive hemodynamic monitoring is frequently required in the management of patients in intensive care units. A fiberoptic flow-directed thermal dilution pulmonary artery catheter capable of continuously monitoring the mixed venous saturation, while more expensive than a conventional pulmonary artery catheter, theoretically could result in better patient care, and might be cost-effective if it resulted either in fewer blood tests being ordered or in less time in the intensive care unit. To test this hypothesis, we designed a randomized trial in our Medical Intensive Care Unit to compare a standard pulmonary artery catheter with a fiberoptic catheter. ⋯ There were no statistical differences between the groups in age, time in the intensive care unit, number of tests ordered, hours of mechanical ventilator therapy, hours of vasoactive drug therapy, or mortality rate. The only statistically significant differences between the groups were that (1) the fiberoptic catheter required a longer insertion time and (2) there were more technical problems in consistently obtaining the wedge pressure in the patients with the fiberoptic catheters. We conclude that routine substitution of a fiberoptic catheter for the standard pulmonary artery catheter is not indicated.
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Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1986
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial[Effects of intermittent muscle stimulation on muscle catabolism in patients immobilized in the ICU].
Are muscular contractions obtained by electrical stimulation able to reduce muscle catabolism in immobilized patients? Ten patients (65 to 79 yr old), hospitalized in an intensive care unit for postoperative failure or cerebral infarction, were studied during nine days. Artificial nutrition was the same for each patient during the study. Two periods of four days where defined and randomized for each patient, separated by one day; during the stimulation period (S), intermittent electrical stimulation of the muscles of the legs (external electrodes) was performed daily 2 X 30 min; during the non-stimulation period (NS), muscular stimulation was not performed. ⋯ Results (X +/- SD) are as follows: the nitrogen balance (g/d) was -1.29 +/- 1.26 during the NS period and 1.43 +/- 1.10 during the S period (NS); 3-methylhistidine (mumol/kg/d) was 3.78 +/- 0.37 during the NS period and 3.15 +/- 0.32 during the S period (p less than 0.01); creatinine (mumol/kg/d) was 92.9 +/- 6.8 during the NS period and 72.9 +/- 25 during the S period (p less than 0.01). It is concluded that a significant decrease in 3-methylhistidine and creatinine excretions is observed during the S period. In intensive care unit patients, muscle protein breakdown may be influenced by intermittent electrical muscle stimulation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Randomized, prospective trial of cimetidine and ranitidine for control of intragastric pH in the critically ill.
Forty-eight critically ill patients in an intensive care unit were enrolled in a prospective study of stress ulcer prophylaxis. The H2-receptor antagonists cimetidine and ranitidine were used, patients being randomized on hospital number. Response was assessed by measuring gastric pH every 2 hours. ⋯ However, even with much lower plasma concentrations of ranitidine, similar amounts of both drugs were present in the gastric juice, suggesting a possible explanation for the greater efficacy of ranitidine. We conclude that, although ranitidine is more effective than cimetidine, neither of these drugs is adequate for stress ulcer prophylaxis. If they ae used for this purpose in the critically ill patient, regular monitoring of gastric pH is essential to allow detection of therapeutic failures.