Acute mental status changes after the ingestion of alcohol or other substances are a common presentation to the ED. Those with severe obtundation may require intubation for airway protection while the substance metabolizes. In fact, more than 20,000 patients are intubated each year in the United States for acute poisoning or intoxication. Notwithstanding, intubation and mechanical ventilation are not benign procedures. In this podcast we discuss the recently published NICO Trial, that evaluated a strategy of withholding intubation in patients with coma due to acute poisoning.
Critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation require analgesia and sedation. At present, propofol remains the most widely used sedative for intubated/ventilated patients. Recent trials...
Given the increase in critically ill patients who present to the ED in need of resuscitation, along with the increase in those who board...
NIPPV is frequently used in the management of critically ill patients presenting with an acute COPD exacerbation, as NIPPV decreases the rates of intubation...