Critical Care 123
Critical Care 123
Critical Care 123
Ghulam Mujtaba
Pharm.D, M.phil, BCPS
Assistant Manager –Clinical pharmacy
ASHP Accredited Preceptor- Critical Care
CASE SCENARIO
A 62-year-old woman is admitted to your ICU for respiratory dysfunction necessitating mechanical ventilation.
Her medical history is nonsignificant, and she is taking no medications at home. Her chest radiograph shows
bilateral lower lobe infiltrates, her white blood cell count (WBC) is 21 × 103 cells/mm3, lactate is 1.7 mmol/L,
temperature is 103.3°F(39.6°C), blood pressure is 82/45 mm Hg (normal for her is 115/70 mm Hg), heart rate is
110 beats/minute, and respiratory rate is 22 breaths/minute.
After she receives a diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia, she is empirically initiated on ceftriaxone 2
g/day and levofloxacin 750 mg/ day intravenously. After fluid resuscitation with 6 L of lactated Ringer solution,
her blood pressure is unchanged. Dopamine is initiated and titrated to 9 mcg/kg/minute, with a resulting
blood pressure of 96/58 mm Hg, and her heart rate is 138 beats/ minute. She has made less than 100 mL of
urine during the past 6 hours, and her creatinine (Cr) has increased from 0.9 mg/dL to 1.3 mg/dL. Her serum
albumin concentration is 2.1 g/dL. Which therapyis best for this patient at this time?
A. Administer 5% albumin 500 mL intravenously over 1 hour and reassess mean arterial pressure (MAP).
B. Initiate hydrocortisone 50 mg intravenously every 6 hours.
C. Change dopamine to norepinephrine 0.01 mcg/kg/minute to maintain an MAP greater than 65 mm Hg.
D. Reduce the dopamine infusion to 1 mcg/kg/minute to maintain urine output of at least 1
mL/kg/hour.
1. Fluid resuscitation
2. Patients may need vasopressors if hypotension is not rapidly reversed with
fluid resuscitation.
a. The efficacy of vasopressors is reduced in patients who have not received
adequate intravascular volume resuscitation.
b. Adverse events associated with vasopressors (e.g., arrhythmias, ischemia)
are greater in patients who have not received adequate fluid resuscitation.
A. Administer 5% albumin 500 mL intravenously over 1 hour and reassess mean arterial pressure (MAP).
B. Initiate hydrocortisone 50 mg intravenously every 6 hours.
C. Change dopamine to norepinephrine 0.01 mcg/kg/minute to maintain an MAP greater than 65 mm Hg.
D. Reduce the dopamine infusion to 1 mcg/kg/minute to maintain urine output of at least 1
mL/kg/hour.
1. After ROSC, systematic post–cardiac arrest care can improve survival and
quality of life.
2. Initial therapy should optimize ventilation, oxygenation, and blood pressure.
a. Sao2should be maintained at 94% or higher.
i. Insertion of an advanced airway may be necessary.
ii. Hyperventilation and excess oxygen delivery are harmful and should be
avoided, especially after ROSC.
b. Hypotension (SBP of 90 mm Hg or less) should be treated with fluid boluses
and vasopressors if necessary.
i. Use bolus dose analgesics and/or non-pharmacologic interventions before potentially painful procedures.
ii. Opioid analgesics are considered first line for the treatment of non-neuropathic pain (gabapentin or
carbamazepine can be considered for neuropathic pain).
iii. Nonopioid analgesics (e.g., acetaminophen, ketamine) can be used in conjunction with opioids as a
“multimodal analgesia” approach to optimize pain control and to avoid dose-related adverse effects.
iv. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are usually avoided because of the risk of bleeding and kidney injury
in critically ill patients.
i. Analgesics and sedatives should be dosed to achieve pain and sedation goals. Adjust
sedative medications to achieve a light level of sedation (RASS 0 to –1). Light sedation is
needed for evaluating pain and delirium and for early patient mobility.
ii. Goals can be achieved using intermittent dosing administered routinely or as needed.
iii. If unable to achieve goals with intermittent dosing, use a combination of bolus dosing
with a
continuous infusion.
(a) In patients receiving a continuous infusion, use a bolus dose before or instead of
increasing the infusion rate (a bolus dose has a faster onset and can eliminate the need for
an increase in the infusion rate). An exception is with drugs such as propofol or dexmedeto-
midine, which can cause hypotension or bradycardia when bolused.
BCPS Preparatory Class 42
SEDATIVES
1. Benzodiazepines should be avoided when possible to prevent adverse outcomes,
including prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation, increased ICU length of stay,
and development of delirium
Lorazepam
a. Intermittent dosing 1–4 mg every 2–6 hours
b. Continuous infusion: Start at 1 mg/hour and titrate to goal (e.g., RASS, SAS). Total
daily doses as
low as 1 mg/kg can cause propylene glycol toxicity. Monitor for an osmolal gap
greater than 10–12
mOsm/L, indicating propylene glycol toxicity.
c. Lorazepam is the preferred benzodiazepine in severe hepatic dysfunction because
of its metabolism.
b. For patients who are bleeding or at high risk for major bleeding, the
guidelines recommend mechanical thromboprophylaxis and institution of
pharmacologic prophylaxis when the bleeding risk decreases.
• Commonly used scales include the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS; Table 19) to
assess the level of consciousness and the National Institutes of Health Stroke
Scale.
b. Many different dosing protocols exist for aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid. Typically, ami-
nocaproic acid is administered as a 4- to 5-g load followed by 1 g/hour.
c. Patients who receive antifibrinolytic therapy should be monitored for the development of a VTE.
3. Coagulation factors: In a study of ICH not caused by anticoagulant therapy, recombinant activated
factor VII decreased the size of ICH but did not improve outcomes.
ghulam.mujtaba37@gmail.com
ghulammujtaba@skm.org.pk