Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Apr 1992
Ventilation/perfusion indices do not correlate with the difference between oxygen consumption measured by the Fick principle and metabolic monitoring systems in critically ill patients.
To determine whether the difference between oxygen consumption (VO2) measured by metabolic gas monitoring systems and by the Fick principle is related to venous admixture, deadspace/tidal volume ratio, or alveolar-arterial oxygen tension gradient in critically ill patients. ⋯ If the difference in VO2 measured by metabolic gas monitoring systems and the Fick principle is due to intrapulmonary VO2 then in critically ill patients the ventilation/perfusion indices of venous admixture, deadspace/tidal volume ratio and alveolar-arterial oxygen tension gradient correlate poorly with intrapulmonary VO2.
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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.
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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.
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Critical care medicine · Apr 1992
Comparative StudyComparison of gastric intramucosal pH with measures of oxygen transport and consumption in critically ill patients.
To determine the relationship of tonometrically measured gastric intramucosal pH to clinically accepted indices of systemic oxygenation. ⋯ In this group of patients, death was associated with increased tissue needs for oxygen that were not adequately satisfied by the available levels of oxygen supply. We also conclude that tonometrically measured gastric intramucosal pH is a useful noninvasive adjunct to current methods of monitoring systemic oxygenation.