Indian journal of critical care medicine : peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine
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Indian J Crit Care Med · Jan 2011
Drug interaction leading to prolonged sedation in a postoperative high risk coronary bypass surgery patient.
Use of midazolam infusion in mechanically ventilated patient is an established practice in critical care. In our case, the use of erythromycin as a prokinetic agent for better tolerance of enteral feeding and paralytic ileus led to an interaction between midazolam and erythromycin, which resulted in prolonged and deeply sedated patient. In a critically ill patient, there is always a possibility of multiple drug interactions. It is important to understand them and they should be considered before starting new medication.
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Rapid treatment of sepsis is of crucial importance for survival of patients. Specific and rapid markers of bacterial infection have been sought for early diagnosis of sepsis. One such measurement, Procalcitonin (PCT), has recently become of interest as a possible marker of the systemic inflammatory response to infection. ⋯ PCT is among the most promising sepsis markers, capable of complementing clinical signs and routine lab parameters suggestive of severe infection.
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Indian J Crit Care Med · Jan 2011
Electrolytes assessed by point-of-care testing - Are the values comparable with results obtained from the central laboratory?
When dealing with very sick patients, the speed and accuracy of tests to detect metabolic derangements is very important. We evaluated if there was agreement between whole blood electrolytes measured by a point-of-care device and serum electrolytes measured using indirect ion-selective electrodes. ⋯ Clinicians should be aware of the difference between whole blood and serum electrolytes, particularly when urgent samples are tested at point of care and routine follow-up electrolytes are sent to the central laboratory. A correction factor needs to be determined at each center.