We describe the treatment of two patients with hemorrhagic shock unresponsive to volume replacement and catecholamines. Both patients responded to a small-dose infusion of vasopressin, which allowed tapering off of the catecholamines. The possible role of small-dose infusions of vasopressin in fluid- and catecholamine-resistant hemorrhagic shock is discussed.

An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is an organized system for the provision of care to critically ill patients that provides intensive and specialized medical and nursing care, an enhanced capacity for monitoring, and multiple modalities of physiologic organ support to sustain life during a period of life-threatening organ system insufficiency. While this availability of trained manpower and specialized equipment makes it possible to care for critically ill patients, it also presents singular challenges in the form of man and material management, design concerns, budgetary concerns, and protocolization of treatment. Consequently, the establishment of an ICU requires rigorous design and planning, a process that can take months to years. However, the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) Epidemic has required the significant capacity building to accommodate the increased number of critically ill patients. At the peak of the pandemic, many countries were forced to resort to the building of temporary structures to house critically ill patients, to help tide over the crisis. This narrative review describes the challenges and lessons learned while establishing a 250 bedded ICU in a temporary structure and achieving functionality within a period of a fortnight.

For the first time, bispectral index (BIS) has been studied in patients being anesthetized solely with ether. Ether both causes an increase and decrease in BIS during induction and emergence. The index observed during the surgical stage of ether anesthesia is probably the correct value for the depth of hypnosis because no other volatile anesthetic can produce the true anesthetic state when used alone. This value could be taken as the value to be attained when balanced anesthesia is being practiced.

Background and Aims:Oropharyngeal colonisation followed by aspiration of contaminated secretions is the major cause for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Pooled secretions present in the sub-glottic area above inflated endotracheal tube cuff may be aspirated into the lower airways. It was hypothesised that intermittent suctioning of sub-glottic secretions would prevent VAP.Methods:Group I (n = 50) patients were intubated with HiLo Evac™ endotracheal (ET) tube with facility for sub-glottic suctioning, and Group II (n = 50) patients were intubated with HiLo Contour™ ET tube without such facility. In the Group I, sub-glottic suctioning was performed every 2 h. Incidence of VAP, mean ventilator days, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay and mortality were compared. Qualitative variables were reported as percentages and were compared by Chi-square test or unpaired two-tailed, Fisher's exact test, as appropriate, to analyse the significance of difference between the two groups.Results:The two groups were similar with respect to demographic characteristics. VAP was seen in 6% of patients in Group I and 22% of patients in Group II (P = 0.021). Both early- and late-onset VAPs were significantly reduced in Group I. Both ventilator days (8.0 vs. 6.45; P = 0.001) and ICU stay (8.33 vs. 6.33; P = 0.001) on the day of onset of VAP were significantly more in the Group I. Total ventilator days were significantly less (6.52 vs. 8.32; P = 0.006) with lower incidence of mortality (36% vs. 48%; P = 0.224) in the Group I.Conclusion:Intermittent sub-glottic suctioning reduces the incidence of VAP including late-onset VAP.

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