Bakgrund: Palliativ sedering avser en avsiktlig sänkning av medvetandegraden hos en patient som befinner sig i livets slutskede och har outhärdliga symtom. Behandlingen ges av ett multiprofessionellt team där sjuksköterskornas uppgift är att iordningställa och administrera ordinerade läkemedel samt utvärdera effekt och upplevelse av behandlingen. Förutom de praktiska kraven som ställs på sjuksköterskorna medför palliativ sedering även krav på förmåga till reflektion och kritiskt såväl som etiskt tänkande. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att undersöka sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av palliativ sedering. Metod: En litteraturöversikt genomfördes och tio vetenskapliga artiklar valdes ut till analys efter litteratursökningar i databaserna CINAHL Complete och PubMed. Resultat: Tre teman med underteman identifierades. God palliativ vård inkluderade att ge palliativ sedering för att erbjuda patient, närstående och personal ett fridfullt avslut och för att uppfylla patientens önskningar. Palliativ sedering och eutanasi kunde vara svåra att skilja från varandra och sjuksköterskorna hade en känsla av att palliativ sedering påskyndande patientens död. Att arbeta i team var en viktig faktor för hur sjuksköterskor upplevde arbetet med palliativ sedering. Det underlättade om beslut om sedering togs gemensamt och olika former av stöd från teamet var betydelsefullt för sjuksköterskor under arbetet med palliativ sedering. Diskussion: Resultaten diskuterades utifrån Jean Watsons omvårdnadsteori om mänsklig omsorg och tre av hennes caritasprocesser Ett kärleksfullt och omsorgsfullt sinnelag, Utrymme för känslor och Hjälpsamma och tillitsfulla omsorgsrelationer. / Background: Palliative sedation refers to an intentional lowering of consciousness of a patient in the end of life who is suffering from unbearable symptoms. The care is performed by a multi-professional team where the nurses’ duties are to prepare, administer and evaluate prescribed pharmaceuticals. In addition to the practical skills required by the nurses, this treatment also requires ability to reflect as well as critical and ethical thinking. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to explore nurses’ experiences of palliative sedation. Method: A literature review was conducted and ten scientific articles were chosen for analysis. Literature searches were made in the databases CINAHL Complete and PubMed. Results: Three themes with subthemes were identified. Good palliative care included giving palliative sedation to offer patients, families and the staff a peaceful ending and to meet the patient’s wishes. Palliative sedation and euthanasia could be difficult to separate and there was a sense that palliative sedation hastened the patient’s death. Teamwork was an important factor for how nurses experienced working with palliative sedation. It was easier if the decision to sedate was taken jointly and support within the team was meaningful to nurses during their work with palliative sedation. Discussion: The results were discussed in relation to Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring and the three caritas processes The practice of loving kindness and equanimity, Promotion and acceptance of the expression of positive and negative feelings and Developing and sustaining a helping-trusting caring relationship.

The aim: was to describe and compare a group of experts and critical care nurses' agreement in detecting delirium in intubated, ventilator treated patients with sedation / analgesia, before and after an in house training intervention with the instrument Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU). Method: A quasi-experimental study, one group pretest - posttest design. A convenience sample of 17 critical care nurses in a general intensive care unit included. To detect delirium the instrument CAM-ICU was used, 21 paired tests before and 22 after an educational intervention. Main Results: The results showed that after an in house training intervention sensitivity and kappa coefficient improved of the characteristic 1 "acute onset and fluctuating course," an improvement that was significant. In other features, and overall values were signs of numerical improvement and deterioration in sensitivity, specificity and kappa coefficient but no significant change. Conclusion: Implementing a new instrument for detecting delirium in clinical practice requires education and follow-up. A small sample of critical care nurses with varying ability to use the new instrument and the fact that patients' status may change rapidly making it difficult to draw any conclusions from this study. It is clear, however, that education and follow-up is needed when new care routines are introduced, and that further studies are needed to clarify whether the CAM-ICU is a valit and reliable instrument to use in clinical practice. / Syftet var att beskriva och jämföra en expertgrupp och intensivvårdssjuksköterskors överensstämmelse i att detektera delirium hos intuberade, respiratorbehandlade patienter med sedering/analgesi, före och efter en utbildningsintervention med instrumentet Confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit (CAM-ICU). Metod: En kvasiexperimentell studie, en grupps pretest – posttest design. Ett bekvämlighetsurval på en allmän intensivvårdsavdelning där inkluderades 17 intensivvårdssjuksköterskor. För att detektera delirium användes instrumentet CAM-ICU, 21 parmätningarna före och 22 efter en utbildningsintervention. Huvudresultat: Resultatet visade att efter utbildningsinterventionen förbättrades sensitiviteten och kappa koefficienten i kännetecken 1 ”akut insättande eller fluktuerande förlopp”, en förbättring som var signifikant. I övriga kännetecken och totalvärden fanns tecken på numerär förbättring och försämring i sensitivitet, specificitet och kappakoefficient men ingen signifikant förändring. Slutsats: Att implementera ett nytt instrument för att detektera delirium i klinisk verksamhet kräver utbildning och uppföljning. Ett litet sample av intensivvårdssjuksköterskor med varierad förmåga att använda det nya instrumentet samt det faktum att patienters status hastigt kan förändras gör det svårt att dra några slutsatser av denna studie. Klart är dock att utbildning och uppföljning behövs när nya vårdrutiner införs, och att ytterligare studier behövs för att klargöra om CAM-ICU är ett valit och reliabelt instrument att använda i klinisk verksamhet.

Bakgrund: Ångest är vanligt förekommande inom intensivvården. Det finns flera orsaker till att intensivvårdade patienter uppleva ångest. Ventilator, sedering, potenta läkemedel, miljö, rädsla, smärta och sömnbrist är ångest utlösande faktorer för patienten. Dessa upplevelser kan förlänga och komplicera patientens återhämtning process. Hur sjuksköterskor känner igen patientens symptom av ångest inom intensivvården är av intresse då rätt behandling kan minska ångest och därigenom minska patientens lidande. Syfte: att belysa intensivvårdssjuksköterskor erfarenheter av hur ångest symptom visar sig hos patienter inom intensivvården. Metod: Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ design och datainsamlingen skedde genom sju intervjuer med semistrukturerade frågor. Intervjutexten analyserades via induktiv innehållsanalys. Resultat: Sjuksköterskor erfarenheter av hur ångest visar sig hos patienter inom intensivvården beskrevs av två kategorier: Kommunikations ångest och Existentiell ångest och sex subkategorier Slutsats: Ångest visar sig genom fysiologiska parametrar, desorientering, kroppsligt uttryck, onormal kontroll, patienten avskärmar sig och söker inre lugn och patienten anpassar sig genom att hitta meningen i sitt lidande. Det är viktigt att intensivvårdspersonal har erfarenheter om hur ångest visar sig. Intensivvårdssjuksköterskans erfarenheter om ångest hos patienterna ökar möjligheter att upptäcka den i en tidig fas och möjligtvis hjälper patienten att släppa alla komplikationer som följer efter. / Background: Anxiety is common among patients in intensive care. There are several reasons why intensive care patients experience anxiety. Use of ventilator, sedation, potent drugs, environment, fear, pain and lack of sleep are anxiety triggers for the patient. These experiences can prolong and complicate the patient's recovering process. How do intensive care nurses recognize the patient's symptoms of anxiety in intensive care are of interest as proper treatment can reduce anxiety and thereby reduce the patient’s suffering. Purpose: to highlight intensive care nurses' experiences about signs of anxiety among patients in intensive care. Method: The study was conducted with a qualitative design and data was collected through seven interviews with semi-structured questions. The data was analysed with inductive content analysis. Result: Nurses’ experience about symptoms of anxiety among patients in intensive care was described in two categories: Communications anxiety and existential anxiety and sex sub-categories. Conclusion: Anxiety is manifested by physiological parameters, disorientation, bodily expression, abnormal control, patient isolated himself and looking for inner calm and patient conform by finding meaning in their suffering. It is important to intensive care staff to have experience about symptoms of anxiety. Experience increases the possibilities to detect anxiety at an early phase and possibly reduce the patient’s complications.

Bakgrund: Eutanasi är ett ämne som är väl omdebatterat i världen och betyder egentligen hjälp till en smärtfri död, men används idag som synonym till dödshjälp. Aktiv dödshjälp innebär att läkaren förskriver ett läkemedel med syfte att avsluta en patients liv. Läkarassisterat självmord innebär att patienten själv tar läkemedlet medan aktiv dödshjälp innebär att sjukvården hjälper till att avsluta patientens liv. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva sjuksköterskors inställning till eutanasi och de faktorer som beskrivs ligga bakom dessa inställningar, samt att beskriva undersökningsgrupperna i de valda artiklarna. Metod: Författarna gjorde en deskriptiv litteraturstudie. Artiklar har sökts fram i sökmotorn PubMed med en femårsbegränsning. Totalt 11 artiklar bearbetades och sammanställdes i kategorier för att besvara frågeställningarna. Resultat: Resultatet visade att sjuksköterskors inställning till eutanasi är en komplex fråga som kan vara beroende av olika faktorer som vilket land de arbetar i och vilka patientgrupper de arbetar med. Majoriteten av deltagarna i studierna var kvinnor i olika åldrar med olika lång arbetslivserfarenhet som sjuksköterska. Resultatet i föreliggande litteraturstudie presenteras utifrån tre huvudrubriker med utgångspunkt i frågeställningarna; Sjuksköterskors inställning till eutanasi, Bidragande faktorer till sjuksköterskornas inställning till eutanasi, samt den metodologiska aspekten undersökningsgrupper. Slutsats: Föreliggande litteraturstudie visar att sjuksköterskors inställning till eutanasi kan vara högst individuell och beroende av många faktorer. Att man som sjuksköterska kan komma i kontakt med dessa frågor är ett faktum, oavsett var och med vilka patienter man arbetar. Med mer erfarenhet och kunskap om ämnet kan sjuksköterskan känna sig tryggare i bemötandet med den döende patienten och dennes anhöriga. / Background: Euthanasia is a well-discussed subject all around the world and means help to a painless death. Active euthanasia means that a doctor prescribes a drug intended to end a patients’ life. Physician-assisted suicide means that the patient takes the drug themselves, while active euthanasia involves medical help to end the patient’s life. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nurses’ attitudes towards euthanasia and the factors described underlie these attitudes, as well as to describe the study groups in the included articles. Method: The authors conducted a descriptive literature review. The articles were found in the search engine PubMed with a five-year limit. A total of 11 articles were processed and summarized into categories to answer the research questions. Findings: The results showed that nurses' attitudes towards euthanasia is a complex issue which may be dependent on several factors such as which country they work in and which patient groups they work with. Most participants in the studies were women of different age and different experience as a nurse. The result of the present literature review form three main headings, based on the issues; nurses' attitudes towards euthanasia, contributing factors to the nurses' attitudes towards euthanasia, as well as the methodological aspect - study groups. Conclusion: The present literature review shows that nurses' attitudes towards euthanasia can be very individual and depend on many factors. It is a fact that nurses may come in contact with these issues, no matter where and with what kind of patients they work. With more experience and knowledge of the subject, the nurse may feel safer in facing the dying patients and their relatives.

GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system. GABA[subscript A]Rs are multimeric transmembrane receptors, which are composed of 5 subunits. It is known that there are 19 subunits that can make up the GABA[subscript A]Rs, allowing for a vast array of receptor subtypes. In addition to the GABA binding site GABA[subscript A]Rs have distinct allosteric binding sites for benzodiazepines, barbiturates, ethanol, certain general anaesthetics and neuroactive steroids. The molecular heterogeneity of the GABA[subscript A]R is accompanied by distinct pharmacological profiles of the different receptor subtypes. The advance of transgenic mouse models has allowed the functional significance of this heterogeneity to be studied in vivo. Therefore, this thesis utilises a variety of transgenic mouse models carrying either mutations or deletions of certain subunits to study the functional significance of the receptor heterogeneity. Mice lacking the α1 subunit (α1[superscript(-/-)]), carrying a point mutation of the α1 subunit (α1H101R), and mice lacking the δ subunit (δ[superscript(-/-)]) have been utilised to investigate the role of these subunits in the sedative actions of benzodiazepines and the GABA[subscript A]R agonist THIP. Although there are limitations to the interpretation of these results due genetic background of the α1[superscript(-/-)] and α1H101R, experiments suggest that the α1H101R mutation is not behaviourally silent as previously suggested and provide further evidence that the α1 subunit mediates the sedative properties of benzodiazepines. These experiments also reveal that the extrasynaptic δ containing receptors are responsible for mediating the sedative effects of THIP, and these findings combined with evidence from collaborators, implicates the thalamus as an anatomical mediator of these effects. An investigation of the putative cognitive enhancing effects of THIP using an attentional set-shifting task for mice suggested that pre-treatment with THIP reduces the number of errors to reach criterion. δ[superscript(-/-)] mice could not be trained to perform the task, therefore further behavioural investigation of these mice was performed, which suggested a heightened level of anxiety and reduced motivation for a food reward. This thesis has furthered our understanding of the functional role of GABA[subscript A]R subtypes. With the advance in genetic manipulations that allow for regionally selective mutations of the receptor the anatomical structures involved in these functions can be identified.

Bakgrund De flesta patienter som läggs in på en intensivvårdsavdelning för invasiv ventilation får sedering någon gång under vårdtillfället. Dagens forskning visar att det finns stora fördelar för patienten att vårdas lätt sederad eller vaken vid invasiv ventilation. Dagens sederingspraxis har gått mot att hålla patienten mer vaken. Invasiva metoder används inom intensivvård vilket kan upplevas som smärtsamt eller obehagligt. Även den högteknologiska vårdmiljön är speciell vilket kan bidra till obehag för patienten. Vårdpersonal beskriver att det tar mer tid i anspråk att vårda en patient som är vaken eller lätt sederad samtidigt som de upplever fördelar med att ha en mer vaken patient. Det finns då möjlighet att kommunicera och interagera med patienten i större utsträckning. Det framkommer även att vårdpersonal ser en utmaning i att vårda lätt sederade eller vakna patienter där de bland annat är oroliga för patientens trygghet och välbefinnande. Syfte Beskriva intensivvårdspatienters upplevelse av att vårdas lätt sederade eller vakna vid invasiv ventilation på en intensivvårdsavdelning. Metod En systematisk litteraturstudie har använts som metod. Kvalitativa artiklar har analyserats med hjälp av Bettany-Saltikov och McSherrys (2016) nio steg. Resultat De tre huvudkategorier som framkom under analysen var upplevelsen av fysiskt och psykiskt lidande, upplevelsen av att kommunicera och upplevelsen av sammanhang eller avsaknad av sammanhang. Slutsats Patienternas upplevelse av att vårdas lätt sederade eller vakna var både obehaglig och smärtsam. Många av patienterna föredrog trots detta att vårdas vakna eller lätt sederade. Dels för att ha kontroll men även för att kunna kommunicera och interagera. Däremot så framkom att just upplevelsen av kommunikation kunde vara mycket frustrerande då framförallt intubation var ett stort hinder för att kunna kommunicera. / Background Most patients admitted to an intensive care unit for invasive ventilation get sedation at some point during the stay. Today's research shows that there are great advantages for the patient to be cared for ligthly sedated or consious during invasive ventilation. Today's sedation practice has moved towards keeping the patient more awake. Invasive procedures are used in the intensive care, which can be experienced as painful or unpleasant. The high-tech care environment is also special, which can contribute to the discomfort of the patient. Nurses describe that it takes more time to care for patients who are awake or lightly sedated. They also experienced advantages of having a more alert patient, such as the possibility of communicating and interacting with the patient. Healthcare professionals also see a challenge in caring for easily sedated or conscious patients, where they are worried about the patient’s safety and well-being. Purpose Describe intensive care patients' experience of being cared for lightly sedated or consious during invasive ventilation in an intensive care unit. Method A systematic literature review has been used as a method. Qualitative articles have been analyzed with the help of Bettany-Saltikov and McSherrys (2016) nine steps. Results The three main categories that emerged during the analysis were the experience of physical and psychological suffering, the experience of communication and the experience of context or lack of context. Conclusion The patients' experience of being cared for lightly sedated or awake was both unpleasant and painful. Many of the patients nevertheless preferred to be cared for awake or lightly sedated. Partly to have control but also to be able to communicate and interact. On the other hand, it emerged that the experience of communication could be frustrating, as intubation was a major obstacle to communicating.

Objetivos: Avaliar a segurança e a eficácia do midazolam intranasal (MIN) para sedação para tomografia em crianças, bem como a qualidade dos estudos radiológicos obtidos com esta técnica. Material e métodos: Entre dezembro de 2011 e julho de 2012, este estudo prospectivo avaliou o MIN como sedativo para crianças submetidas à tomografia sem acesso venoso. Após aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e consentimento dos responsáveis, 0,4 mg/kg de MIN foi administrado, sendo feita dose adicional de 0,1 mg/kg se o nível de sedação avaliado pela Escala de Sedação de Ramsay não fosse atingida após 15 minutos da primeira dose. Os desfechos relacionados à sedação incluíram tempo para sedação e para atingir os critérios de alta; parâmetros fisiológicos como oximetria de pulso e frequência cardíaca foram registrados a cada cinco minutos até a alta. A qualidade dos exames tomográficos foi avaliada quanto à presença de artefatos de imagem e movimento. Resultados: 60 eventos de sedação foram realizados em 58 pacientes. A idade média foi de 15,5 meses, sendo 90,9% dos exames tomográficos de crânio. O tempo médio para sedação foi de 15,2 minutos (5-40) e o tempo médio para atingir os critérios de alta foi de 74,7 minutos. Eventos adversos foram observados em 5 crianças (8,4%), incluindo reação paradoxal (3), tempo de recuperação prolongado (1) e vômitos (1). Apenas 4 pacientes (6,7%) não foram adequadamente sedados com MIN. Imagens consideradas excelentes, sem artefatos, foram obtidas em 56 (93,3%) sedações. Não houve eventos como bradicardia, hipoxemia ou hipotensão. Conclusões: O midazolam intranasal, administrado via atomizador nasal, é um método simples e não-invasivo para sedação segura, eficaz e previsível para crianças na obtenção de estudos tomográficos de qualidade / Objective: To evaluate the safety, efficacy and image quality of sedation with aerosolized intranasal midazolam for pediatric CT studies. Materials and Methods: Between December 2011 to May 2012, this prospective study evaluated aerosolized intranasal (AIN) midazolam as a sedative for CT of children without intravenous access. After IRB approval and parental consent, 0,4 mg/kg of AIN midazolam was administered, and repeated with 0.1 mg/kg if adequate sedation evaluated by Ramsay Sedation Scale not achieved in 15 minutes after the first dose. Sedation outcome variables which included time to achieve sedation, to meet discharge criteria and physiological vital signs of pulse oximetry and heart rate, were recorded every five minutes until discharge. The quality of CT images was reviewed and graded for presence of motion and imaging artifacts, Results: 60 sedation encounters were performed in 58 children. Mean age was 15.5 months, and 90.9% of CT scans were brain scans. Mean time to sedation was 15.2 minutes (range 5-40) and mean time to achieve discharge criteria was 74.7 minutes. Adverse events were recorded in 5 children (8.4%) that underwent sedation - paradoxical reaction (3), prolonged recovery time (1) and vomiting (1). Only 4 patients (6.7%) failed to sedate. Excellent CT imaging, with no artifacts, were obtained in 56 (93.3%) of sedation encounters. No adverse events like bradycardia, hypoxia or hypotension were documented. Conclusions: The aerosolized route of administration of midazolam is a simple and noninvasive approach for predictable, effective and safe sedation of children for quality CT imaging studies

Informações em tempo real da direção e tipo de fluxo sanguíneo podem ser obtidas com ultrassonografia com Doppler. Não foram encontrados dados na literatura de valores obtidos por este método da artéria celíaca e mesentérica cranial de gatos. Além disso, ocasionalmente há necessidade de sedar os gatos e cães para realização deste exame em quaisquer vasos em que se deseja obter mais informações. O trabalho possui dois objetivos. Um foi avaliar os aspectos quantitativos da onda espectral formada pelo fluxo sanguíneo das artérias: aorta, celíaca, mesentérica cranial, renal, ilíaca externa e femoral de gatos e cães hígidos; e compará-los aos obtidos dos mesmos animais submetidos à sedação, com um protocolo para cada espécie. Os gatos foram sedados com midazolam, cetamina e butorfanol, e os cães, com acepromazina e butorfanol. Outro objetivo foi obter valores velocimétricos de referência para artéria celíaca e artéria mesentérica cranial em gatos, através do Doppler espectral. Para isso, foram avaliados 20 gatos e 20 cães hígidos. Como resultado dos gatos, foram obtidos os valores de pico de velocidade sistólica, velocidade diastólica final, média da velocidade média, média da velocidade máxima, índice de resistividade e índice de pulsatilidade, tanto da artéria celíaca quanto da artéria mesentérica cranial de animais hígidos não sedados, e; foram obtidos esses mesmos dados das artérias aorta, renal, ilíaca externa e femoral e todos comparados entre os gatos sedados e não sedados, onde não foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas, exceto na velocidade diastólica final e velocidade média da artéria celíaca, e índice de resistividade e de pulsatilidade da artéria ilíaca. Já nos cães, observou-se que houve diferença de pelo menos dois dos parâmetros dopplervelocimétricos avaliados das artérias selecionadas, exceto da artéria femoral. Dessa forma, nos gatos foram fornecidos parâmetros dopplervelocimétricos da artéria celíaca e mesentérica cranial de animais não sedados, e conclui-se que, enquanto o protocolo utilizado nos gatos, com midazolam, cetamina e butorfanol, não alterou os valores encontrados nos vasos selecionados, exceto da artéria celíaca e da ilíaca; nos cães, o uso de acepromazina e butorfanol levou a modificação de parte desses valores em todos os vasos, exceto na artéria femoral. Assim, na realização deste exame com esses protocolos, essas diferenças devem ser consideradas. / Real time information about direction and type of blood flow can be obtained with Doppler ultrasound. No data was found in the literature regarding values of the celiac and cranial mesenteric artery in cats obtained through this method. Moreover, occasionally, for examining cats and dogs’ vessels about which we desire to get more information, there is a need to sedate these animals. This study has two objectives. One was to evaluate the quantitative aspects of spectral wave formed by the blood flow of aorta, celiac, cranial mesenteric, renal, external iliac and femoral arteries from healthy cats and dogs and compare them to the same animal under sedation, using one protocol for each species. The cats were sedated with midazolam, ketamine and butorphanol and the dogs with acepromazine and butorphanol. The second objective was to obtain velocimetric reference values from celiac and mesenteric cranial artery in cats. Twenty healthy cats and dogs were evaluated. As a result for the cats, values of peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, time averaged mean velocity, time averaged maximum velocity, resistivity index and pulsatility index of both the celiac and the cranial mesenteric artery were obtained in healthy non-sedated animals, and; these same data from aorta, renal, external iliac and femoral were obtained, and all compared, between sedated and non-sedated cats, where statistically significant differences were not found, except in end diastolic velocity and average speed of the celiac artery, and resistance and pulsatility index of the iliac artery. In dogs, a difference was observed in at least two of the Doppler velocity parameters measured of the arteries, except for the femoral artery. Thus, Doppler velocity parameters of the celiac and cranial mesenteric artery in non-sedated cats were provided and it was concluded that the protocol used in cats, with midazolam, ketamina and buthorphanol did not alter the values of Doppler ultrasound in the selected vessels in cats, except celiac and external iliac artery. In addition, in dogs, the use of acepromazine and buthorphanol led to modification of part of these values in all vessels, except in the femoral artery. Thus, when carrying out this examination with these protocols, such differences should be considered.

Objetivos: Avaliar a segurança e a eficácia do midazolam intranasal (MIN) para sedação para tomografia em crianças, bem como a qualidade dos estudos radiológicos obtidos com esta técnica. Material e métodos: Entre dezembro de 2011 e julho de 2012, este estudo prospectivo avaliou o MIN como sedativo para crianças submetidas à tomografia sem acesso venoso. Após aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e consentimento dos responsáveis, 0,4 mg/kg de MIN foi administrado, sendo feita dose adicional de 0,1 mg/kg se o nível de sedação avaliado pela Escala de Sedação de Ramsay não fosse atingida após 15 minutos da primeira dose. Os desfechos relacionados à sedação incluíram tempo para sedação e para atingir os critérios de alta; parâmetros fisiológicos como oximetria de pulso e frequência cardíaca foram registrados a cada cinco minutos até a alta. A qualidade dos exames tomográficos foi avaliada quanto à presença de artefatos de imagem e movimento. Resultados: 60 eventos de sedação foram realizados em 58 pacientes. A idade média foi de 15,5 meses, sendo 90,9% dos exames tomográficos de crânio. O tempo médio para sedação foi de 15,2 minutos (5-40) e o tempo médio para atingir os critérios de alta foi de 74,7 minutos. Eventos adversos foram observados em 5 crianças (8,4%), incluindo reação paradoxal (3), tempo de recuperação prolongado (1) e vômitos (1). Apenas 4 pacientes (6,7%) não foram adequadamente sedados com MIN. Imagens consideradas excelentes, sem artefatos, foram obtidas em 56 (93,3%) sedações. Não houve eventos como bradicardia, hipoxemia ou hipotensão. Conclusões: O midazolam intranasal, administrado via atomizador nasal, é um método simples e não-invasivo para sedação segura, eficaz e previsível para crianças na obtenção de estudos tomográficos de qualidade / Objective: To evaluate the safety, efficacy and image quality of sedation with aerosolized intranasal midazolam for pediatric CT studies. Materials and Methods: Between December 2011 to May 2012, this prospective study evaluated aerosolized intranasal (AIN) midazolam as a sedative for CT of children without intravenous access. After IRB approval and parental consent, 0,4 mg/kg of AIN midazolam was administered, and repeated with 0.1 mg/kg if adequate sedation evaluated by Ramsay Sedation Scale not achieved in 15 minutes after the first dose. Sedation outcome variables which included time to achieve sedation, to meet discharge criteria and physiological vital signs of pulse oximetry and heart rate, were recorded every five minutes until discharge. The quality of CT images was reviewed and graded for presence of motion and imaging artifacts, Results: 60 sedation encounters were performed in 58 children. Mean age was 15.5 months, and 90.9% of CT scans were brain scans. Mean time to sedation was 15.2 minutes (range 5-40) and mean time to achieve discharge criteria was 74.7 minutes. Adverse events were recorded in 5 children (8.4%) that underwent sedation - paradoxical reaction (3), prolonged recovery time (1) and vomiting (1). Only 4 patients (6.7%) failed to sedate. Excellent CT imaging, with no artifacts, were obtained in 56 (93.3%) of sedation encounters. No adverse events like bradycardia, hypoxia or hypotension were documented. Conclusions: The aerosolized route of administration of midazolam is a simple and noninvasive approach for predictable, effective and safe sedation of children for quality CT imaging studies

The neurological wake-up test, NWT, is a clinical monitoring tool that can be used to evaluate the level of consciousness in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) during neurocritical care (NCC). Since patients with severe TBI or SAH are often treated with mechanical ventilation and sedation, the NWT requires that the continuous sedation is interrupted. However, interruption of continuous sedation may induce a stress response and the use of the NWT in NCC is controversial. The effects of the NWT on intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) were evaluated in 21 patients with TBI or SAH. Compared to baseline when the patients were sedated with continuous propofol sedation, the NWT resulted in increased ICP and CPP (p<0.05). Next, the effects of the NWT on the stress hormones adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine were evaluated in 24 patients. Compared to baseline, the NWT caused a mild stress response resulting in increased levels of all evaluated stress hormones (p<0.05). To compare the use of routine NCC monitoring tools, the choice of sedation and analgesia and the frequency of NWT in Scandinavian NCC units, a questionnaire was used. The results showed that all 16 Scandinavian NCC units routinely use ICP and CPP monitoring and propofol and midazolam were primary choices for patient sedation in an equal number of NCC units. In 2009, the NWT was not routinely used in eight NCC units whereas others used the test up to six times daily. Finally, intracerebral microdialysis (MD), brain tissue oxygenation (PbtiO2) and jugular bulb oxygenation (SjvO2) were used in 17 TBI patients to evaluate the effect of the NWT procedure on focal neurochemistry and cerebral oxygenation. The NWT did not negatively alter interstitial markers of energy metabolism or cerebral oxygenation. In conclusion, the NWT induced a mild stress response in patients with TBI or SAH that did not result in a detectable, significant secondary insult to the injured brain. These results suggest that the NWT may safely be used as a clinical monitoring tool in the NCC of severe TBI and SAH in a majority of patients.