J Buon
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Review
The critically ill patient with cancer - indications for Intensive Care Unit admission and outcomes.
Critically ill cancer patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) have high mortality rates compared to noncancer patients. Yet, with suitable patient selection, improved ICU- and 6-month survival has been observed in these patients: admission of cancer patients to the ICU can no more be considered futile. As a general rule, patients with good performance status, who are at the initial phase of their malignant disease and with life-extending treatment options available, should be routinely admitted to the ICU, while patients being only in palliative care should not. When in doubt, an ICU trial with re-appraisal at 3-6 days may be the best policy, as the data available when ICU admission is considered, are not sufficient to identify patients who are likely to benefit from ICU management.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Ketoprofen is superior to metamizole in relieving postoperative pain after head and neck tumor operation.
Recently, nonsteroidal analgoantipyretics are recommended in the management of postoperative pain, with great attention to their safety. We conducted a randomized, single blind study to compare the analgesic efficacy and safety of ketoprofen and dipyrone (metamizole) after major head and neck surgery. ⋯ The efficacy of ketoprofen to achieve postoperative analgesia was comparable to metamizole during the first 48h, while ketoprofen was superior to metamizole during the 3rd postoperative day.