Intensive care medicine
-
Intensive care medicine · Jul 2002
Comparative StudyQuality of life after intensive care--evaluation with EQ-5D questionnaire.
To evaluate health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) and study its determinants in adult patients discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ Intensive care unit variables (e.g., diagnosis, length of stay and severity of disease) and patient's background data (e.g., age, gender, education, main activity, smoking habits, experience with serious illness and previous health status) may be significant determinants of HR-QOL. However, when adjusted for background data, most ICU variables are no longer associated with EQ-5D. This should cause attention to be paid to the role of a patient's background in the evaluation of HR-QOL and to a careful interpretation of EQ-5D results when comparing ICUs.
-
Intensive care medicine · Jul 2002
Conversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation or flutter with ibutilide after amiodarone has failed.
To evaluate whether ibutilide can convert atrial fibrillation or flutter in patients in whom amiodarone has failed. ⋯ In ICU patients ibutilide led to conversion to sinus rhythm in 81.5% of patients in whom amiodarone was unsuccessful. Nonsustained tachycardias were seen in 11%; sustained ventricular tachycardia was not seen. Ibutilide seems to be well suitable for conversion of recent onset atrial fibrillation or flutter and had no severe side effects in this study population.