Medicina intensiva
-
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) must be attempted if indicated, not done if it is not indicated or if the patient does not accept or has previously rejected it and withdrawn it if it is ineffective. If CPR is considered futile, a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order (DNR) will be recorded. This should be made known to all physicians and nurses involved in patient care. ⋯ After limitation of vital support, certain type of non-heart-beating-organ donation can be proposed. In order to acquire CPR skills, it is necessary to practice with simulators and, sometimes, with recently deceased, always with the consent of the family. Research on CPR is essential and must be conducted according to ethical rules and legal frameworks.
-
An effective tissue perfusion has decisive influence on the final prognosis both during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and after recovery of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The transcranial Doppler ultranosography (TCD) examines the velocity and pulsatility of cerebral blood flow, making it possible to perform "beat to beat" hemodynamic analysis. ⋯ Early or delayed presence of a hyperemic TCD pattern (high velocities with low pulsatilities) is associated conclusively with evolution to intracranial hypertension and its appearance during the rewarming process should lead to immediate return to therapeutic hypothermia. The coincidence of hypodynamic cerebral arteries and others with normal or hyperemic TCD patterns may indicate the presence of focal hypoperfusion that could predict stroke after ROSC.
-
This study has aimed to establish the intensivist physician's concepts and practices in this region regarding the diagnosis, management and prevention of delirium in intensive care units (ICU). ⋯ Although delirium is considered to be a common and preventable problem with serious implications for critically ill patients, the intensivist physicians surveyed do not use a tool for its evaluation in the ICU. Educational efforts are needed to disseminate the effectiveness and usefulness of the scales that allow for early and accurate diagnosis of delirium in the ICU.
-
Case Reports
[Cardiac arrest due to accidental hypothermia and prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation].
In cardiac arrest produced by accidental hypothermia, cardiopulmonary resuscitation must be prolonged until normal body temperature is achieved. There are different rewarming methods. In theory, the more invasive ones are elective in patients with cardiac arrest because of their higher rewarming speed. ⋯ This is the longest successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation known up-to-date in Spain. In order to rewarm the body, a combination of non-invasive methods was used: active external rewarming with convective warm air, gastric and bladder lavage with warm saline solution and intravenous warm saline infusion. This case shows that it is possible to treat hypothermic cardiac arrest successfully through these rewarming methods, which are both easy to apply and feasible in any hospital.