Medicina intensiva
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To describe the characteristics and prognostic factors of elderly patients hospitalized for > or = 30 days in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). ⋯ ICU mortality rates in elderly patients with a stay < or > or = 30 days in the ICU were comparable. Survival at one year of the > or = 70 year-old patients whose long-term intensive care unit stay was > or = 30 days was high. These results are sufficient in our unit to justify prolonged ICU care for elderly patients.
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Thoracic aorta traumatism is a lesion associated to high morbidity-mortality at the site of the accident. In the 90's, treatment by placement of an endovascular stent was generalized with good results. In this work, we present a series of 5 clinical cases of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of our hospital during the year 2006. ⋯ Three received endovascular treatment within the first 36 hours and the fourth on day 28 of admission. The fifth patient had a lesion of the intima and was not operated on. Posterior evolution was good in all the cases.
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To assess the incidence and prognostic value of acute renal function deterioration (ARFD) in patients with acute heart disease. ⋯ Acute renal function deterioration is frequent in patients with acute heart disease and its presence is linked with higher mortality.
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Status epilepticus is a neurological emergency that requires prompt care. The diagnosis and treatment must be continuous from the first minutes to its resolution. The most frequent cause in epileptic patients is drug change or non-compliance and in the non-epileptic patients are cerebrovascular diseases, head trauma, drug toxicity and metabolic disturbances. ⋯ There is no agreement on third and fourth line therapy: phenobarbital, valproate, levetiracetam, propofol, midazolam, barbiturates and others. The prognosis of status epilepticus is related to etiology, age, type and duration of the status. Thus, drug treatment for status epilepticus should be started without delay.
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Comment Letter
[Recommendations in sedoanalgesia of the critical patient].