Der Anaesthesist
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Clinical Trial
[The use of remifentanil in critically ill patients. Clinical findings and early experience].
It was the aim of this investigation to report our initial clinical experience on the use of remifentanil in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. Additionally, we hypothesized that even under intensive care conditions remifentanil might facilitate a temporally predictable and "programmed" tracheal extubation. ⋯ Remifentanil appeared to be suitable for analgesia and sedation of critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation: Even under intensive care conditions recovery was rapid in the majority of cases, and in two thirds of all patients tracheal extubation was temporally predictable and could be timed within 15 min. These results are best explained by the metabolism and offset of action of remifentanil obviously unaffected in the ICU area. However, for fast emergence the cautious use of additional sedatives is crucial.