Introduction: Intensive care facilities may play an important role in reducing corona mortality. This study aimed to assess the epidemiological features, treatments, and prognosis of corona patients that admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Baqiyatallah Hospital. Methods: All patients with a corona that admitted to the ICU of Baqiyatallah Hospital from March 5 to May 20, 2020, were included. The epidemiological characteristics, pharmacological, non-pharmacological, and supportive therapies and prognosis were assessed. Underlying diseases, smoking, and severity of lung involvement based on CT scan findings (mild, moderate, severe) and length of hospital stay in the ICU were recorded in a questionnaire. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) or tracheal intubation, ventilator ventilation, and duration of endotracheal intubation, if needed, were recorded in the questionnaire. Meanwhile, whether tracheostomy was performed, the time of the procedure, and its duration were also recorded. Results: Overall, 82 patients were included in the study that 68 (82.9%) of them were males. The mean age was 57.96±14.08 years. The mortality rate was 53 cases (64.6%). There were 57 subjects (73.1%) at a severe lung involvement and 21 subjects (26.9%) at a moderate lung involvement. There was a significant relationship between severity of lung involvement and mortality (Odds ratio= 14.3, P<0.001). There was a significant relationship between mortality and Armadile use (Odds ratio= 2.9, P=0.04). There was a significant relationship between mortality and tracheal intubation (Odds ratio= 27.2, P<0.001). There was no significant difference between mortality and discharge of patients regarding the intubation period (P=0.26). There was not a significant relationship between tracheostomy, NIV, and mortality status in the patients (P=0.14 and 0.33 respectively). Also, there was no significant difference between mortality and discharge of patients regarding tracheostomy and NIV period (P=0.51 and 0.17). There was no significant difference in age between severe and moderate lung involvement cases (P=0.63). There was a significant difference in the duration of ICU hospitalization between severe and moderate lung involvement cases (P=0.004). Conclusion: The results showed none of the factors of age, sex, underlying diseases other than hypertension, pharmacological methods other than Armadile, and non-pharmacological methods such as hemoperfusion, plasmapheresis, IVIG, hyperimmune plasma injection, and stem cell as well as Ozone therapy does not affect corona patient’s mortality. Only the severity of lung involvement leading to endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation is related to patients’ mortality
Background: Dexmedetomidine facilitates patient communication with the ICU nurses, and is a valuable drug for use in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation due to a reduction in the duration of mechanical ventilation and prevalence of delirium. Objectives: In this study, investigators aimed to compare the effect of Dexmedetomidine with placebo on sedation in patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Methods: In this double-blind clinical trial, 69 patients with open-heart surgery who underwent a cardiopulmonary bypass pump, were randomly assigned into two groups of Dexmedetomidine (group D) and placebo (group P). At the end of the operation, patients in groups D and P respectively received 1 µ / kg infusion of Dexmedetomidine and normal saline in 10 minutes. In case of a lack of proper sedation, midazolam with the doses of 1 mg titration was used up to reaching the goal of sedation. Also, for pain relief, morphine titrated at a dose of 1 mg was Injected, and dosage was recorded in both groups. In each shift, patients were examined for delusions by the nurse involved in their care, using the “Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU)”. For patients with delirium, 1 to 5 mg of Haloperidol was used. Also, the length of stay in the ICU was recorded. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate at different stages of treatment (p<0.05). comparison of the two groups in terms of the length of stay in ICU, duration of mechanical ventilation, staff satisfaction, and occurrence of Delirium after surgery indicated that there were significant differences between the two groups (p<0.05). There was a significant difference between the two groups in the dose of morphine and midazolam (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that sedation with Dexmedetomidine significantly reduced the incidence of postoperative delirium, the length of stay in ICU, the duration of mechanical ventilation, the satisfaction rate of ICU staff, and the dose of analgesic and sedative medication. As there were no reported hemodynamic complications as well, it seems that it can be indicated as a safe and appropriate drug for sedation of patients in the ICU.
