Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0030552 (paresis)
 5,831 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Sedation and analgesia will be required in the mechanically ventilated pediatric trauma patient. Adequate provision of both has a number of beneficial physiologic and psychologic effects. There are a number of categories of sedatives available for use. To provide optimal management and avoid adverse sequellae, an understanding of the pharmacology of these agents should guide their use in this group of patients, who are likely to have variable pharmacokinetic responses and therapeutic goals. Neuromuscular blockade is warranted in only a select population of mechanically ventilated ICU patients. Given newer ventilator technology and modes, it is certainly possible to achieve patient-ventilator synchrony with the use of sedation alone. Neuromuscular blockade is associated with a number of possible adverse effects, including prolonged weakness or paresis, and prohibits ongoing clinical assessment. When the use of this therapy is deemed necessary, it is again essential to understand the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of the available agents to avoid potential complications.
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PMID:Paralyzation and sedation of the ventilated trauma patient. 1158 7

Respiratory and pharyngeal muscle function are impaired during minimal neuromuscular blockade. Tracheal extubation in the presence of residual paresis may contribute to adverse respiratory events. In this investigation, we assessed the incidence and severity of residual neuromuscular block at the time of tracheal extubation. One-hundred-twenty patients presenting for gynecologic or general surgical procedures were enrolled. Neuromuscular blockade was maintained with rocuronium (visual train-of-four [TOF] count of 2) and all subjects were reversed with neostigmine at a TOF count of 2-4. TOF ratios were quantified using acceleromyography immediately before tracheal extubation, after clinicians had determined that complete neuromuscular recovery had occurred using standard clinical criteria (5-s head lift or hand grip, eye opening on command, acceptable negative inspiratory force or vital capacity breath values) and peripheral nerve stimulation (no evidence of fade with TOF or tetanic stimulation). TOF ratios were measured again on arrival to the postanesthesia care unit. Immediately before tracheal extubation, the mean TOF ratio was 0.67 +/- 0.2; among the 120 patients, 70 (58%) had a TOF ratio <0.7 and 105 (88%) had a TOF ratio <0.9. Significantly fewer patients had TOF ratios <0.7 (9 subjects, 8%) and <0.9 (38 subjects, 32%) in the postanesthesia care unit compared with the operating room (P < 0.001). Our results suggest that complete recovery from neuromuscular blockade is rarely present at the time of tracheal extubation.
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PMID:Residual paralysis at the time of tracheal extubation. 1592 Feb 24

Neuromuscular blocking agents and corticosteroids are widely used in medicine and in particular in the intensive care unit (ICU). Neuromuscular blockade is commonly used to ease tracheal intubation, to optimize mechanical ventilation and oxygenation in acute respiratory disorders such as status asthmaticus and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), to prevent shivering during therapeutic hypothermia, and also in patients with elevated intracranial pressure. In the ICU, patients with sepsis, ARDS, community-acquired pneumonia, exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe asthma, or trauma may receive corticosteroids. It is not rare that ICU patients receive concomitantly neuromuscular blocking drugs and corticosteroids. Among the various serious adverse reactions to these drugs, secondary infection and ICU-acquired weakness may place a burden to the health-care system by resulting in substantial cost and long-term morbidity. Both superinfections and ICU-acquired paresis are more likely when high doses of fluorinated corticosteroids are combined with prolonged treatment with a long-acting non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocker. Modern ICU practices favor lower dose of corticosteroids and very short course of short-acting curare for the management of sepsis or ARDS. Recent trials provided no evidence for increased risk of secondary infections or critical illness neuromyopathy in patients with sepsis or ARDS with the use of corticosteroids or neuromuscular blockers.
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PMID:What Is the Evidence for Harm of Neuromuscular Blockade and Corticosteroid Use in the Intensive Care Unit? 2682 Feb 74