Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1985
Outcome and costs of intensive care. A follow-up study on 238 ICU-patients.
A retrospective follow-up study was performed on 238 consecutive admissions in the surgical ICU. The patients were grouped into four categories according to the therapeutic intervention scoring system: 14 in class I, 13 in class II, 81 in class III and 130 in class IV. The mortality rate during their stay in the ICU (5.4%), after discharge from the ICU (2.1%) and 2 years after discharge from the hospital (7.6%) was estimated. ⋯ Fifty-two percent of the total hospitalization costs were generated during the ICU stage which accounted for 17.5% of the hospitalization period. Sixty percent of the total financial investment was spent on the group of survivors who resumed normal work. The mean cost per survivor was $7095 or $1 per survivor per day of active life over an average span of 15 years survival after discharge from the hospital.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1985
Case ReportsIndomethacin treatment in a patient with lithium-induced polyuria.
Lithium intoxication causes polyuria, central nervous system manifestations, and ultimately stupor progressing to coma. Moreover, polyuria leading to hypernatraemia itself can progress to convulsions and coma. We present a patient with lithium intoxication who remained polyuric, hypernatraemic and somnolent despite normal serum lithium concentrations. After institution of indomethacin orally, polyuria and hypernatraemia disappeared and patient regained consciousness.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1985
Decelerating inspiratory flow waveform improves lung mechanics and gas exchange in patients on intermittent positive-pressure ventilation.
The effects of two inspiratory flow waveforms (WFs), decelerating and constant have been studied in 14 patients undergoing intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (IPPV). With tidal volume (VT), inspiratory time, inspiratory-expiratory (I/E) ratio and frequency being kept constant, the decelerating waveform produced statistically significant reduction of peak pressure, total respiratory resistance, work of inspiration, ratio of dead space to tidal volume (VD/VT) and alveolar-arterial gradient for oxygen (A-a)PO2. There was significant increase in total static and kinetic compliances and PaO2, with no significant changes in PaCO2, in cardiac output (CO) and in other haemodynamic measurements.