Biomedical subjects

Francisco Bruno

Publications and source records attributed to Francisco Bruno.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Evolution of the medical practices and modes of death on pediatric intensive care units in southern Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To study the possible change on mode of deaths, medical decision practices, and family participation on decisions for limiting life-sustaining treatments (L-LST) over a period of 13 yrs in three pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) located in southern Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional study based on a retrospective chart review (1988 and 1998) and on prospective data collection (from May 1999 to May 2000). SETTING: Three PICUs in Porto Alegre, southern Brazilian region. PATIENTS: Children who died in those PICUs during the years of 1988, 1998, and between May 1999 and May 2000. RESULTS: The 3 PICUs admitted 6,233 children during the study period with a mortality rate of 9.2% (575 deaths), and 509 (88.5%) medical charts were evaluated in this study. Full measures for life support (F-CPR) were recognized in 374 (73.5%) children before dying, brain death (BD) was diagnosed in 43 (8.4%), and 92 (18.1%) underwent some limitation of life support treatment (L-LST) There were 140 (27.5%) deaths within the first 24 hrs of admission and 128 of them (91.4%) received F-CPR, whereas just 11 (7.9%) patients underwent L-LST. The average length of stay for the death group submitted to F-CPR was lower (3 days) than the L-LST group (8.5 days; p < .05). The rate of F-CPR before death decreased significantly between 1988 (89.1%) and 1999/2000 (60.8%), whereas the L-LST rose in this period from 6.2% to 31.3%. These changes were not uniform among the three PICUs, with different rates of L-LST (p < .05). The families were involved in the decision-making process for L-LST in 35.9% of the cases, increasing from 12.5% in 1988 to 48.6% in 1999/2000. The L-LST plans were recorded in the medical charts in 76.1% of the deaths, increasing from 50.0% in 1988 to 95.9% in 1999/2000. CONCLUSION: We observed that the modes of deaths in southern Brazilian PICUs changed over the last 13 yrs, with an increment in L-LST. However, this change was not uniform among the studied PICUs and did not reach the levels described in countries of the Northern Hemisphere. Family participation in the L-LST decision-making process has increased over time, but it is still far behind what is observed in other parts of the world.

Brazil↗

PubMed2003

[Rapid airway access].

OBJECTIVE: To review the steps involved in safe airway management in critically ill children. SOURCE OF DATA: Review of articles selected through Medline until April 2003 using the following key words: intubation, children, sedation. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: Airway compromise is rare, but whenever it occurs, the situation depends on professionals trained to carry out safe, early, and rapid airway management, with no harm to the patient. The method currently advocated for airway management is rapid sequence intubation, which requires preparation, sedation and neuromuscular block. We observed that it is not possible to apply one single intubation protocol to all cases, since the selection of the most adequate procedure depends on indication and patient conditions. We defined the drug doses most commonly used in our setting, since little is know so far about the real effect of sedatives and analgesics. In most situations, the association of an opioid (fentanyl at 5-10 micro g/kg) with a sedative (midazolam at 0.5 mg/kg) and a neuromuscular blocking agent are sufficient for tracheal intubation. CONCLUSIONS: Training, knowledge, and skill in airway management are of fundamental importance for pediatric intensive caregivers and are vital for the adequate treatment of critically ill children. We present an objective and dynamic text aimed at offering a theoretical basis for the generation of new protocols, to be implemented according to the strengths and difficulties of each service.

Airway Obstruction↗

PubMed2002

[A sixteen-year epidemiological profile of a pediatric intensive care unit, Brazil].

OBJECTIVE: To review epidemiological data from patients admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Brazil, and to compare them to medical aspects associated to disease severity and mortality. Also, to profile these patients, including demographic data, disease prevalence, mortality rates and associated factors. METHODS: Retrospective data were collected from all patients admitted in a PICU of a university hospital between 1978 and 1994. Data were presented as percentages and compared using Chi-square, and calculating the relative risk (RR) with a 95% confidence interval, p<0.05. RESULTS: Of 13, 101 patients selected, most of them were boys (58.4%), younger than 12 months of age (40.4%), well-nourished (69.5%), and with clinical disease (73.1%). The general mortality rate was 7.4%. Patients aged less than 12 months showed a RR of 1.86 (CI 1.65 - 2.10; p<0.0001), while the RR of malnutrition was 2.98 (CI 2.64 - 3.36; p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological survey showed that the mortality is higher in malnourished children younger than 12 months of age. Sepsis was the most main cause of death.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Sedation and analgesia in children submitted to mechanical ventilation could be overestimated?].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the pattern of analgesic and sedative infusions in children submitted to mechanical ventilation in a regional pediatric intensive care unit during a 12-month period. To compare the use of these drugs among clinical and surgical patients, as well evaluate the influence of the length of use on the average daily doses and on the incidence of abstinence syndrome. METHODS: This cohort study was performed from April 2001 to March 2002, involving children (1 month old to 15 years old) submitted to the mechanical ventilation through a tracheal tube for a period longer than 12 hours and who were successfully extubated (dead patients and those who required reintubation were excluded from the study). A team of professionals not involved with the patient's assistance performed a daily collection of all data up to the 28th day under mechanical ventilation (maximum length of follow up for those who remain longer under mechanical ventilation). The main outcome was the infusion doses of morphine, fentanyl, ketamine and midazolam administered at 12 AM (considering this dose as the average dose for that day). The diagnosis of abstinence syndrome was based on the chart revision (recorded diagnosis or based on the specific antagonist treatment used) and in an interview with the assistant physician on the following days after the extubation. This study was approved by the Ethics and Scientific Committee of the HSL-PUCRS. RESULTS: 127 children were eligible for this study, but only 124 patients were analyzed (16.0 +/- 29-5 months old; 58% male; 92 defined as clinical patients and 32 as surgical patients). An average of 1.7 sedative-analgesic infusion per patient a day was used in the whole group (without difference between clinical and surgical groups). Morphine and fentanyl were the most common drugs infused in both groups (fentanyl was preferred for the clinical group and morphine for the surgical group). The mean length of infusion was different (p<0.01) between clinical and surgical patients (6.8 and 3.9 days, respectively). After the 7th day, there was a significant increase in the fentanyl and midazolam doses (p<0.01), as well as a higher incidence of abstinence syndrome in the clinical group (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: This study evaluated the daily practice in a regional PICU, and it demonstrated that analgesic and sedative infusions in children submitted to mechanical ventilation are used according to an uncontrolled pattern (average 1.7 drugs/patient/day) and those classified as clinical patients used these drugs for longer periods, what could explain the higher prevalence of abstinence syndrome in this group.

Analgesics↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Comparison of two prognostic scores (PRISM and PIM) at a pediatric intensive care unit].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of the PRISM (Pediatric Risk of Mortality) and the PIM (Pediatric Index of Mortality) scores at a general pediatric intensive care unit, investigating the relation between observed mortality and survival and predicted mortality and survival. METHODS: A contemporary cohort study undertaken between 1 June 1999 and 31 May 2000 at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Hospital São Lucas pediatric intensive care unit. The inclusion criteria and the PRISM and PIM calculations were performed as set out in the original articles and using the formulae as published. Statistical analysis for model evaluation employed the Flora z test, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test, ROC curve (receiver operating characteristic) and Spearman's correlation tests. The study was approved by the institution's Ethics Committee. RESULTS: Four hundred and ninety-eight patients were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, 77 of whom presented exclusion criteria. Thirty-three (7.83%) of the 421 patients studied died and 388 patients were discharged. Estimated mortality by PRISM was 30.84 (7.22%) with a standardized mortality rate of 1.07 (0.74-1.50), z = -0.45 and by PIM this was 26.13 (6.21%) with a standardized mortality rate of 1.26 (0.87-1.77), z = -1.14. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test gave a chi-square of 9.23 (p = 0.100) for PRISM and 27.986 (p < 0.001) for PIM. The area under the ROC curve was 0.870 (0.810-0.930) for PRISM and 0.845 (0.769-0.920) for PIM. The Spearman test returned r = 0.65 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Analyzing the tests we can observe that, although the PIM test was less well calibrated overall, both PRISM and PIM offer a good capacity for discriminating between survivors and moribund patients. They are tools with comparable performance at the prognostic evaluation of the pediatric patients admitted to our unit.

Child↗