Articles: critical-care.
-
Ann Fr Anesth Reanim · Jan 1995
Case Reports[A cause of difficult weaning from artificial respiration: polyneuropathy of intensive care].
Three cases of Critically Illness Polyneuropathy (CIP) are reported. The difficulty of weaning the patients from the ventilator, whereas sepsis and MOF had been successfully treated, was the main feature in the three cases. The diagnosis was established by eletromyogram, showing a primary axonal denervation of peripheral nerve fibres, which was confirmed by a pathological study in one patient.
-
The authors report three cases of neuromuscular deficits occurring after a variable time of mechanical ventilation in ICU patients suffering from acute respiratory failure requiring sedation and neuromuscular blockade by pancuronium bromide. The clinical features of these deficits were similar : flaccid quadriparesia slowly reversible without sensory loss and difficult weaning from ventilation for two patients. ⋯ After a status asthmaticus treated with corticosteroids and mechanical ventilation under muscle relaxants, creatine kinases should be measured in plasma and a neurological examination be performed. The value of neuromuscular blockade monitoring for the prevention of this myopathy should be assessed.