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F J Luccas

Publications and source records attributed to F J Luccas.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Midazolam for treatment of refractory neonatal seizures. A case report.

Midazolam is a short-acting water soluble benzodiazepine that has been used with an increasing frequency in the last years. Although there are reports on its use in status epilepticus, there is none in the neonatal period. A pre-term (35 w) AGA newborn infant with a severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy secondary to grade III hyaline membrane disease developed status epilepticus in the first 6 hours of life and was successfully treated with midazolam after phenobarbital and phenytoin failed to achieve seizure control. Dosage schedule was 0.2 mg/kg IV, followed by continuous infusion of 0.025 mg/kg/h. Midazolam is an effective drug for neonatal status epilepticus and more experience should accumulate before it can be routinely employed in the neonatal period. This case shows that it is a possible option before using more dangerous drugs, such as thionembutal.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

[Neurophysiological evaluation using multimodal sensory evoked potentials in patients in coma: general aspects].

Noninvasive sensory evoked potentials (SEP) performed at bedside in the Intensive Care Unit for patients in coma can be helpful in establishing both a diagnosis and a prognosis. Based on a more than 6-year experience on this subject, the authors discuss general aspects concerning these EP, their probable known generators, and propose a classification depicting different aspects observed for flash visual EP (F-VEP), brainstem auditory EP (BAEP), and median nerve somato-sensory EP (SSEP). Isolated, SSEP shows the best diagnostic and prognostic performance. Nevertheless, the authors consider that multimodality SEP are even better than any isolated EP study; cross-correlating information generated through a horizontal (F-VEP), a vertical (SSEP), and a pathway focusing brainstem in greater detail (BAEP) allows the neurophysiological establishment of the level of lesion in the CNS from a better perspective; besides, SEP can help setting the diagnosis of brain (encephalic) death, and the diagnosis of particular problems concerning each pathway. Notwithstanding, most important is prognosis definition, and the findings are summarized. Abnormal BAEP implies bad prognosis, as would be expected considering the severity of a brainstem lesion; on the other hand, a normal BAEP per se does not allow a precise definition, resting on other EP the role prognosis characterization. SSEP if bilaterally normal or only mildly abnormal imply good prognosis; bilateral absence of SSEP thalamo-cortical components has always carried a bad prognosis, since younger patients may at best evolve into a persistent vegetative state; SSEP intermediary results are more often accompanied by variable evolution. FVEP results parallel those of SSEP.

Coma↗
PubMed1989

[Auditory evoked potentials in the monitoring of 15 laser microsurgeries of the brain stem].

Based upon the results observed in 15 patients submitted to tumor resection by the CO2 microlaser technique and submitted to brain stem auditive evoked potential (BAEP) intraoperative determination, the authors emphasize the importance of the technique. BAEP during the intraoperative period and the ultrasonic control of removal of tumors proved useful in the 15 cases of brain stem tumors or tumor adherent to it. Morbidity and mortality are described, and the important changes in BAEP that precede bradycardia are detailed. The importance of advances obtained through BAEP in peroperative control in such surgeries is stressed.

Adult↗