British medical journal (Clinical research ed.)
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Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) · Apr 1985
Case ReportsLife support for 10 weeks with successful fetal outcome after fatal maternal brain damage.
A 31 year old woman in whom subarachnoid and intracerebral haemorrhage occurred during the second trimester of pregnancy was sustained in intensive care with a respirator for 10 weeks. Computed tomography of the brain showed bilateral intraventricular haemorrhages. ⋯ The woman died of spontaneous cardiac arrest two days after caesarean section, and the boy showed normal development. Life support can be continued for several weeks in a modern intensive care unit after fatal insult to the brain even in a pregnant woman without affecting the fetus.
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Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) · Apr 1985
Sleep in the surgical intensive care unit: continuous polygraphic recording of sleep in nine patients receiving postoperative care.
Sleep was studied in nine patients for two to four days after major non-cardiac surgery by continuous polygraphic recording of electroencephalogram, electrooculogram, and electromyogram. Presumed optimal conditions for sleep were provided by a concerted effort by staff to offer constant pain relief and reduce environmental disturbance to a minimum. All patients were severely deprived of sleep compared with normal. ⋯ The sustained wakefulness could be attributed to pain and environmental disturbance to only minor degree. Sleep time as estimated by nursing staff was often grossly misjudged and consistently overestimated when compared with the parallel polygraphic recording. The grossly abnormal sleep pattern observed in these patients may suggest some fundamental disarrangement of the sleep-wake regulating mechanism.