Influence of opioid choice on mechanical ventilation duration and ICU length of stay.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the impact on mechanical ventilation and ICU outcomes of substituting remifentanil for sufentanil, in an analgesia-based sedation protocol. A database of data prospectively collected was retrospectively analyzed. The study was carried out in a 16-bed tertiary-care ICU. METHODS: The study included 1544 mechanically ventilated patients admitted from January 2001 to December 2006. Patients were compared between two consecutive phases. Analgesia-based sedation guidelines were the same, except for the opiate used. The patient-to-nurse ratio (2.5) and ventilator weaning practices remained unchanged. 794 patients were included during the sufentanil phase, and 750 during the remifentanil phase. Remifentanil was associated with significantly less time spent on mechanical ventilation (10 days[3-21] vs. 14 days[3-27], P<0.01) and in the ICU (16 days[3-22] vs. 19 days[4-26], P<0.01). The difference was significant for patients ventilated no longer than four days (P=0.0035) but not for patients ventilated more than four days (P=0.058). Sedation target on the Ramsay scale was reached more often with remifentanil. The use and amount of hypnotic agents in addition to the opiate were significantly lower with remifentanil. The cost of analgesia-based sedation was similar in the sufentanil and the remifentanil group. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that using a short-acting opiate with short context-sensitive half-life in an analgesia-based sedation protocol may significantly decrease the duration of mechanical ventilation and the ICU length of stay even though not significantly in long term sedation, while improving the achievement of sedation goals despite a lower requirement for adjunctive hypnotic agents, with no additional costs.

[Assessment of the usefulness to use a software supervising continuous infusion rates of drugs administered with pumps in ICU and estimation of the frequency of rate of administration errors]. / Description de la prévention et estimation de la fréquence des erreurs de programmation de vitesse d'administration en continu des médicaments en réanimation par une application informatique.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the usefulness and the feasibility to use a software supervising continuous infusion rates of drugs administered with pumps in ICU. STUDY DESIGN: Follow-up of practices and inquiry in three intensive care units. MATERIAL: Guardrails software(TM) of reassurance of the regulations of the rates of pumps (AsenaGH, Alaris). METHODS: First, evaluation and quantification of the number of infusion-rates adjustments reaching the maximal superior limit (considered as infusion-rate-errors stopped by the software). Secondly, appreciate the acceptance by staffs to such a system by a blinded questionnaire and a quantification of the number of dataset pumps programs performed with the software. RESULTS: The number of administrations started with the pumps of the study in the three services (11 beds) during the period of study was 63,069 and 42,694 of them (67.7 %) used the software. The number of potential errors of continuous infusion rates was 11, corresponding to a rate of infusion-rate errors of 26/100,000. KCl and insulin were concerned in two and five cases, respectively. Eighty percent of the nurses estimated that infusion-rate-errors were rare or exceptional but potentially harmful. Indeed, they considered that software supervising the continuous infusion rates of pumps could improve safety. CONCLUSION: The risk of infusion-rate-errors of drugs administered continuously with pump in ICU is rare but potentially harmful. A software that controlled the continuous infusion rates could be useful.

[Impact of sophrology on non-invasive ventilation tolerance in patients with acute respiratory failure]. / Impact de la sophrologie sur la tolérance des séances de ventilation non invasive chez des patients en insuffisance respiratoire aiguë.

OBJECTIVES: Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) is subject to a large number of failures due to discomfort of the art, the feeling of difficulty breathing and pain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of sophrology to improve conditions for the realization of NIV in patients with ARF. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this prospective randomized and controlled study, consecutive patients with ARF were included. From the very first NIV session, they received either sophrology during the first 30 min of NIV (S group), or standard care by the same nurse during 30 min (T group). The hemodynamic and ventilatory data were recorded continuously; pain, respiratory difficulty and discomfort were measured with a numeric scale at the end of the session. RESULTS: Thirty patients were included in the study, 27 have been analysed. Each patient received an average of four sessions NIV during the protocol. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of improvement in gas exchange. In contrast, there was a significant difference in terms of reduction of difficulty in breathing (-76%), discomfort (-60%) and decrease the pain (-40%) in the sophrology group (p<0.001). Respiratory rate, heart rate and systolic arterial blood pressure were decrease during NIV. CONCLUSION: Sophrology constitutes aid for the achievement of the meetings of NIV in patients' IRA.

[Acetaminophene-induced hypotension in intensive care unit: a prospective study]. / Etude prospective de l'incidence des hypotensions artérielles induites par l'injection intraveineuse de paracétamol en réanimation.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of paracetamol-induced hypotension in intensive care unit (ICU). The secondary end-point was the description of pathophysiologic phenomenon during this hypotension and risk factors. STUDY DESIGN: An observational study in three ICU of a French teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All consecutives patients whom benefit from intravenous paracetamol administration were included in the study. When a 20% droop in arterial blood pressure occurred, plasma samples were obtained and tryptases were measured at 6 and 48 hours. Clinical, biological characteristics and paracetamol administration duration were prospectively monitored. RESULTS: During a 2-months period, 127 ICU patients were included in the study with 1507 paracetamol administration. Twenty droops in arterial blood pressure were recorded in ICU. The incidence rate was 1.33%. Administration duration was 32+/-9 min. No respiratory nor cutaneous manifestations occurred during hypotensions. A specific treatment was administrated in half of the patients. Hypotension incidence was higher (3.9%) in patients with brain injury. Eighty percent of patients with hypotension have a severe sepsis or a septic shock. CONCLUSION: In this cohort of ICU patients, hypotension incidence was higher than reported in drug legal mentions. Immunoallergic phenomenon was excluded. Brain injury and sepsis seems to be risk factors.

[Tolerance of caspofungin in intensive care unit: a prospective study]. / Tolérance de la caspofongine chez les patients de réanimation: étude prospective.

OBJECTIVE: Caspofungin has shown efficacy and very low toxicity in empirical antifungal therapy in refractory invasive Aspergillus infections and invasive candidiasis in neutropenic (or non) patients. To date, there is no data on tolerability of caspofungin in ICU patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate caspofungine tolerability in critical care patients. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Over a 36-month period, 1430 patients were admitted in a general intensive care unit. All patients data were collected in a prospective database. All the clinical or biological side effects reported in the multicentric studies were required. The patients were laminated in two groups, according to the initial hepatic function. RESULTS: Seventy-three patients were treated with caspofungin (5.1%) and 58% were immunocompromised. Immunosuppression was due to acute leukemia (30%), solid organ transplant (20%) or other causes of immunosuppression. In this group, SAPS2 was higher (51+/-20 versus 44+/-20; p<0.05) as mortality rate was (60% versus 23%). More than 90% of patients were ventilated and 55% needed extrarenal therapy. Caspofungin treatment was initiated for aspergillosis in 12 patients, candidiasis in 33 patients and others indications. Partial or complete response to treatment was 72%. Median duration of caspofungin administration was 11 days, no liver dysfunction or acute renal failure due to caspofungin was reported whatever initial liver function was. CONCLUSION: This prospective open study demonstrate the very low toxicity of caspofungin even in critical care patients.