Critical care medicine
-
Critical care medicine · Apr 1992
Arterial-venous carbon dioxide tension difference during severe hemorrhage and resuscitation.
To define clinically useful markers for determining the adequacy of resuscitation after hemorrhage. ⋯ These findings suggest that the adequacy of resuscitation after hemorrhage can be assessed using paired arterial and mixed venous pH and PCO2 values.
-
Critical care medicine · Apr 1992
Case ReportsIntravenous midazolam for the treatment of refractory status epilepticus.
To determine the usefulness of midazolam as a therapeutic agent for status epilepticus refractory to conventional treatment. ⋯ In this small study, midazolam appears to be an effective and safe alternative to high-dose barbiturate coma for the termination of status epilepticus when conventional agents have failed.
-
Critical care medicine · Apr 1992
Generation of anaphylatoxin C3a in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in trauma patients at risk for the adult respiratory distress syndrome.
To determine the generation of anaphylatoxin C3a in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in trauma patients at risk for the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ⋯ The C3a of epithelial lining fluid to plasma ratio was extremely high in patients developing ARDS, but even the non-ARDS group had a ratio greater than 1, indicating that a substantial local complement activation occurs in the lung.
-
Critical care medicine · Apr 1992
Role of a prehospital medical system in reducing heroin-related deaths.
The mortality rate from heroin overdose in Italy between 1977 and 1987 increased significantly. However, in the same period, a significant increase was not observed in Tuscany, an administrative region in Italy. This study was performed to determine if the prehospital emergency medical system of Florence, the capital of Tuscany (the only one operating in Italy during the study period), affected this lower mortality rate. ⋯ We suggest that an emergency medical system can play an important role in reducing the mortality rate from heroin overdose.