OBJECTIVE The authors conducted a postal survey to establish what the current sedative and analgesic practice in selected Australian intensive care units was. METHODS A questionnaire based on a European e-mail survey was devised and then posted to directors and senior Intensivists in 72 Australian intensive care units. RESULTS There were 47 returns out of 72 units. The most commonly used dr...

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome, also known as drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS), is a rare, acute and severe life-threatening systemic disease. DRESS syndrome is characterized by fever, lymphadenopathy, rash, hypereosinophilia and involvement of systemic organs. The most commonly implicated drugs are anticonvulsants, sulfonamides and allopurinol. ...

OBJECTIVE The authors sought to identify patterns and associations of prescription and over-the-counter sedative-hypnotic use in an older, rural, blue-collar, community-based cohort in southwestern Pennsylvania over 10 years. METHODS A group of 1,627 individuals age 65 and over were recruited and assessed during 1987-1989 and re-assessed during approximately biennial waves. Data included slee...

Four new pentacyclic benzodiazepine derivatives (PBDTs 13-16) were synthesized by conventional thermal heating and microwave-assisted intramolecular cyclocondensation. Their anticonvulsant, sedative and anxiolytic activities were evaluated by drug-induced convulsion models, a pentobarbital-induced hypnotic model and an elevated plus maze in mice. PBDT 13, a triazolopyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiaze...

The first indications of drug abuse were reported within a matter of weeks of Mandrax reaching the market, but due to the widespread abuse of barbiturates they went largely unnoticed. Now the drug is perhaps only second to Mogadon (nitrazepan) as a non-barbiturate sedative/hypnotic in the large quantities prescribed. There are however good reasons why this particular drug combination ought to b...

A pharmacological view of narcotic addiction and alcoholism, or sedative addiction, serves as a basis for the further exami nation of these complex illnesses. The disease called alcohol ism (sedativism) consists, however, of much more than just a chronic or periodic addiction to a sedative drug. The urgent need to understand the psychological and societal parameters of this illness is underscor...

Introduction: Previous studies have suggested that Bispectral Index (BIS) may be less reliable in detecting depth of anesthesia or sedation during use of certain anesthetics or sedatives. These studies suggest that depth of sedation as measured by BIS may be drug-dependent. To date, data related to the effects of sedative agent on BIS in children are limited due to small sample sizes and inclus...

Remimazolam (CNS 7056) is a new drug innovation in anesthesia. It combines the properties of two unique drugs already established in anesthesia - Midazolam and remifentanil. It acts on GABA receptors like midazolam and has organ-independent metabolism like remifentanil. It is likely to be the sedative of the future, as preliminary phase II trials have shown minimal residual effects on prolonged...

Rapid sequence intubation is a stepwise process developed to assist health care providers in placing emergent artificial airways for patients requiring assisted ventilation. This practice includes routine administration of sedative and neuromuscular blocking agent (NMBA) medications for patient comfort during endotracheal tube placement. Members of the multidisciplinary team should be well educ...