J Formos Med Assoc
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There is a lack of data regarding the occurrence of hemothorax in medical intensive care units (ICUs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence, comorbidity and prognostic factors of hemothorax in medical ICU patients. ⋯ Chronic kidney disease was the most common comorbidity associated with hemothorax. Patients with chronic kidney disease might require close observation for hemothorax after invasive procedures, such as thoracentesis and chest tube thoracostomy. Prolonged prothrombin time and decreased hemoglobin level might be of prognostic value for critically ill patients with hemothorax.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of epidural neuraxial blockade-dependent sedation on the Ramsay Sedation Scale and the composite auditory evoked potentials index in surgical intensive care patients.
Peripheral deafferentation induced by neuraxial anesthesia reduces the degree of cortical arousal. This study investigated whether epidural analgesia blockade decreased sedation, as measured by the rapidly extracted auditory evoked potentials index, A-line autoregressive index (AAI) and Ramsay Sedation Scale (RSS) in sedated surgical intensive care patients, and looked at whether this was a concentration-dependent effect of lidocaine. ⋯ Epidural lidocaine analgesia could potentiate sedation in patients evaluated by the AAI, but had no effect on the RSS. The present study suggests that the AAI could provide an objective and more precise index than the RSS in evaluation of sedation level in patients who are undergoing epidural pain management in the intensive care unit.