Guidelines for inhaled sedation in the ICU.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Sedation is used in intensive care units (ICU) to improve comfort and tolerance during mechanical ventilation, invasive interventions, and nursing care. In recent years, the use of inhalation anaesthetics for this purpose has increased. Our objective was to obtain and summarise the best evidence on inhaled sedation in adult patients in the ICU, and use this to help physicians choose the most appropriate approach in terms of the impact of sedation on clinical outcomes and the risk-benefit of the chosen strategy. METHODOLOGY: Given the overall lack of literature and scientific evidence on various aspects of inhaled sedation in the ICU, we decided to use a Delphi method to achieve consensus among a group of 17 expert panellists. The processes was conducted over a 12-month period between 2022 and 2023, and followed the recommendations of the CREDES guidelines. RESULTS: The results of the Delphi survey form the basis of these 39 recommendations - 23 with a strong consensus and 15 with a weak consensus. CONCLUSION: The use of inhaled sedation in the ICU is a reliable and appropriate option in a wide variety of clinical scenarios. However, there are numerous aspects of the technique that require further study.

Postoperative arterial hypotension: the unnoticed enemy.

Postoperative hypotension is a frequently underestimated health problem associated with high morbidity and mortality and increased use of health care resources. It also poses significant clinical, technological, and human challenges for healthcare. As it is a modifiable and avoidable risk factor, this document aims to increase its visibility, defining its clinical impact and the technological challenges involved in optimizing its management, taking clinical-technological, humanistic, and economic aspects into account.

Result of the implementation of a quality management system based on the ISO 9001:2015 standard in a surgical intensive care unit.

INTRODUCTION: The implementation of Quality Management Systems (QMS) is one of the fundamental and future-oriented elements for the improvement of modern health systems. The objective of implementing a QMS in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2015 Standard is to effectively carry out its activities, covering both technical and management aspects, guaranteeing the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of all its stakeholders, as well as compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. It must contemplate all those aspects that have an impact on the final quality of the product or service provided by the organization. OBJECTIVE: The main objective is to describe the process of implementing a QMS under the ISO 9001: 2015 Standard in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the General University Hospital of Elche and evaluate its results. METHODOLOGY: Carrying out and implementing a QMS in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the General University Hospital of Elche applying the points of the ISO 9001: 2015 Standard. The SGC has followed the benchmark of management by processes, identifying from its strategic core of mission, vision and values, the different processes involved and their interrelation reflected in the process map. Based on it, the necessary documents have been developed to describe the operation of the Unit both at an operational level through the key processes (admission and initial assessment of the patient, stabilization, follow-up, complementary tests, interconsultations, transfers and discharge) as well as which refers to procedures of a strategic or support type. RESULTS: The strategic lines that marked the beginning of the deployment of our QMS were defined with the drafting of 7 objectives, achieving 100% compliance. The key processes (7) that described the functioning of our organization were elaborated, as well as those of a strategic type (14) and support or support (5), complemented with 55 medical and nursing protocols. 20 monitoring indicators were analyzed: 6 organizational and planning type, and 14 clinical. 46 incidents were detected in the first year of implementation of the QMS that were analyzed by the Quality Commission, emerging 7 corrective actions. 14 improvement actions were developed after the application of the AMFE methodology for key processes, achieving an average of greater than 70% effectiveness after reassessment. From the analysis of patient and family satisfaction through SAIP case management, 41 of a total of 52 cases were acknowledgments in writing. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a QMS in our Surgical Intensive Care Unit has made it possible to define the strategic lines of our organization, develop objectives, establish monitoring indicators, standardize the work of the Unit through procedures and protocols, increase safety at work through the use of lists of verification, initiate improvement actions to strengthen the weak points of the QMS itself, as well as know the degree of satisfaction and needs of our patients and the personnel who work in it.

[Sugammadex in a man with a transplanted kidney: a case report]. / Sugammadex en un paciente trasplantado renal. Descripción de un caso.

We report the use of sugammadex to reverse a rocuronium block in a man who had received a kidney transplant 4 years earlier. The patient was admitted for gastric non-Hodgkins lymphoma and bleeding that required surgery. Arterial hypertension, tachycardia, and frequent ventricular extrasystoles were detected. Anesthetic induction was accomplished with propofol, fentanyl, and rocuronium; intubation was uneventful. We monitored pulse oximetry, capnography, heart rate, electrocardiography, arterial pressure (invasive), cardiac output, end-systolic volume, bispectral index, temperature, and neuromuscular function. Anesthesia was maintained with an infusion of propofol, fentanyl, and rocuronium guided by train-of-four (TOF) ratio. Total diuresis was 1100 mL. The operation lasted 4.5 hours. Recovery of neuromuscular response was spontaneous until the second TOF twitch, after which we injected 2 mg/kg of sugammadex. A TOF ratio of 0.94 was recorded 158 seconds after injection of the reversal agent. The patient was extubated without complications. Sugammadex can be used in patients with a transplanted kidney, provided the glomerular filtration rate has recovered sufficiently to allow full excretion of the sugammadex-rocuronium complex.

Use and dependence on opioid drugs in the Spanish population with chronic pain: Prevalence and differences according to sex. / Uso y dependencia de fármacos opioides en población española con dolor crónico: prevalencia y diferencias de género.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the prevalence in the use and dependence on opioid drugs in the Spanish population with chronic pain and evaluate the differences according to sex. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The demographic variables, opioid treatment characteristics and use of other substances were assessed in 229 users of opioid drugs. A descriptive bivariate analysis of the data was performed. RESULTS: Forty-six percent of the patients met the criteria of dependence on opioid drugs (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition [DSM-IV-TR]). Alcohol and cannabis consumption was greater in the men. The rates of dependence on the use of opioid drugs were significantly higher in the extended treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Planning for treatments with opioids and strategies for preventing inappropriate use should not depend on the patient's sex. We need further studies on the medical and psychological variables related to the use of and dependence on opioids.

[Spontaneous pneumothorax as the first sign of pulmonary carcinoma]. / Neumotórax espontáneo como primera manifestación de un carcinoma pulmonar.

We report five cases of spontaneous pneumothorax as the first sign of pulmonary carcinoma. Initial tests did not detect neoplasms. Diagnosis took place during surgery for four patients and the fifth was diagnosed by preoperative computed tomography to assess pulmonary bullous emphysema. All five patients had persistent air leaks in spite of correct placement and functioning of drains, the reason for which surgery was scheduled. Three segmentectomies, one lobectomy and one exploratory thoracotomy for pleural metastasis were performed. Histopathologic diagnoses were 3 giant cell tumors, 1 adenocarcinoma and 1 non-mucinous bronchoalveolar carcinoma. We think that when risk factors are present, the existence of unresolved pneumothorax after correct placement of a drain should lead to a suspicion of associated pulmonary carcinoma.

[Diagnostic usefulness of the determination of serum neuron-specific enolase in small cell bronchial carcinoma]. / Utilidad diagnóstica de la determinación sérica de la enolasa neuroespecífica en el carcinoma bronquial de células pequeñas.

The plasma level of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) was measured in 55 patients with small cell bronchial carcinoma (SCC) with cytohistological confirmation to evaluate its diagnostic usefulness. As a control group, 132 patients with non-small cell bronchial carcinoma, 81 with non-neoplastic disease and 37 healthy individuals were used. The sensitivity of the test was 84% with a specificity of 79% when values below 13 ng/mg were considered as normal. To achieve a specificity of 95% and 99% cutoff values had to be increased to 25 and 50 ng/ml, respectively, and then the sensitivity was reduced to 51% and 38%. There were false positive findings in the three control groups, although they were more common (28%) and had higher values in patients with widespread disease the sensitivity was significantly higher (p less than 0.005) than in those with limited disease. Carcinoembryonic antigen, which was measured with comparative purposes, had a lower sensitivity. In our area, a NSE level over 50 ng/ml is closely correlated with the diagnosis of SCC, whereas values over 13 ng/ml select a wider group of individuals where most patients with this type of carcinoma are included.