Background: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 presents with fever, dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath in most cases; however, some rare manifestations in other organs have also been reported so far. Case presentation: Here, the case of a 69-year-old Iranian man with coronavirus disease 2019 is presented who suffered from frequent episodes of vasopressor-resistant hypotension during intensive care unit admission, which was finally attributed to the occurrence of acute adrenal insufficiency. Conclusions: As this is a rare complication, adrenal insufficiency might be easily overlooked. However, early detection of this disease among critically ill patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 could be lifesaving, especially among those unresponsive to vasopressor agents.

Background:Cholecystectomy is considered as the most important and relatively common postoperative pain control often begins in recovery room by using systemic narcotics that may have some side effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of premedication with oral tizanidine on pain relief after elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Materials and Methods:In this double-blinded clinical trial, 70 adults of American Society of Anesthesiologist physiologic state 1 and 2 scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia were studied and randomly divided in two study and control groups. Ninety minutes before the induction of anesthesia, patients received either 4 mg tizanidine (study group) orally in 50cc or the same volume of plain water as a placebo (control group). Then, the vital signs, pain intensity, duration of stay in recovery, and the analgesic consumption were measured and then compared in both groups during 24 h postoperatively.Results:There was no significant difference in patient characteristics, with respect to age, weight, gender, and duration of anesthesia and surgery between the groups (P > 0.05). The pain intensity, need for analgesic drugs (34.57 ± 8.88 mg vs. 101.86 ± 5.08 mg), and the duration of stay in recovery room (67.43 ± 1.59 min vs. 79.57 ± 5.48 min) were significantly lower in tizanidine group than that of the control group.Conclusion:Oral administration of 4 mg tizanidine before laparoscopic cholecystectomy reduces postoperative pain, opioid consumption, and consequence of the duration of stay in recovery room without any complication.

Introduction:Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common infection in the intensive care unit, and has many side effects such as increased mortality, increased length of hospital stay, and increased health costs. This study aimed to evaluate the compliance with the standards for prevention of VAP by nurses in the intensive care units.Materials and Methods:In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 120 nurses in 11 intensive care units of hospitals affiliated to Isfahan university of Medical Sciences, Iran, were assessed for 4 months from July to October 2014. The implementation of all measures for the prevention of VAP was investigated through observation and using a checklist.Results:The mean compliance with the standards for the prevention of VAP in the intensive care unit by the nurses was 56.32%; analysis of variance test showed significant difference between the hospitals (P < 0.001). Disposable ventilator circuit was performed for all patients; however, reviewing the patient readiness for separation from the ventilator was not conducted on a daily basis.Conclusions:Compliance with the standards for the prevention of VAP in the intensive care units was relatively acceptable; however, it still requires serious attention by the officials with training and sensitization of nurses in implementing preventive measures, especially through the provision of clinical guidelines and related protocols.

Background:Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) are one of the most common nosocomial infections in intensive care unit (ICU). The ICU patients are at risk of stress ulcer and gastrointestinal bleeding for different reasons. In order to prevent this complication, anti acids are used for patients. This study compared pantoprazole with sucralfate in incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia.Materials and Methods:This randomized clinical trial was carried out on ICU patients with mechanical ventilation in Alzahra university hospital in Isfahan from 2010 to 2011. One hundred forty eight ventilated patients were randomly allocated in two groups. The first group was treated with sucralfate and the second group was treated with pantoprazole for stress ulcer prophylaxis and followed up during hospitalization in ICU for nosocomial pneumonia. Data analyzed by SPSS software.Results:One hundred thirty seven patients were selected for study. During the study period, 34 cases (24.8%) acquired pneumonia, of which 10 were in the sucralfate group and 24 were in the pantoprazole group (14.1% vs. 36.4%). According to Chi-square test, rate of pneumonia was significantly lower in patients receiving sucralfate than the pantoprazole group (P < 0.001).Conclusion:On the basis of the results, there is a significant relationship between the kind of drug used for stress ulcer and ventilator associated pneumonia. According to this article, rate of pneumonia was significantly lower in patients receiving sucralfate than the pantoprazole group.

Invasive candidiasis (IC) bears a high risk of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care units (ICU). With the current advances in critical care and the use of widespectrum antibiotics, invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and IC in particular, have turned into a growing concern in the ICU. Further to blood cultures, some auxil- REVIEW 102November 4, 2014|Volume 3|Issue 4| WJCCM|www.wjgnet.com iary laboratory tests and biomarkers are developed to enable an earlier detection of infection, however these test are neither consistently available nor validated in our setting. On the other hand, patients' clinical status and local epidemiology data may justify the empiric antifungal approach using the proper antifungal option. The clinical approach to the management of IC in febrile, non-neutropenic critically ill patients has been defined in available international guidelines; nevertheless such recommendations need to be customized when applied to our local practice. Over the past three years, Iranian experts from intensive care and infectious diseases disciplines have tried to draw a consensus on the management of IFI with a particular focus on IC in the ICU. The established IFI-clinical forum (IFI-CF), comprising the scientific leaders in the field, has recently come up with and updated recommendation on the same (June 2014). The purpose of this review is to put together literature insights and Iranian experts' opinion at the IFI-CF, to propose an updated practical overview on recommended approaches for the management of IC in the ICU. Core tip: The present consensus statement has attempted to summarize the practical highlights regarding the management of Invasive Candidiasis (IC) in critical care setting. This easy-to-follow clinical pathway is expected to be not only of interest but also of clinical use for those who deal with the management of invasive fungal infections in hospital setting and especially the intensive care units. The focus of this paper is the concept of timely management of IC in critically ill patients.