Risk factors and events in the adult intensive care unit associated with pain as self-reported at the end of the intensive care unit stay.

Background: The short-term and long-term consequences of the most frequent painful procedures performed in the ICU are unclear. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with pain-related discomfort perceived by critically ill patients during the whole ICU stay as self-reported by patients at the end of their ICU stay.

Methods: The study involved 34 ICUs.

Assessment of patients' self-perceived intensive care unit discomforts: Validation of the 18-item version of the IPREA.

Background And Aims: We reported the validation of the 18-item version of the 'Inconforts des Patients de REAnimation (IPREA)' questionnaire that includes 2 new items exploring feeling depressed and shortness of breath during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay.

Methods: The validation process was integrated in a multicenter, cluster-randomized, controlled, two-parallel group study built to assess the effectiveness of a tailored multicomponent program for reducing self-perceived discomfort in the ICU. All patients aged 18 years or older who survived an ICU stay of 3 calendar days or more were eligible for inclusion.

A tailored multicomponent program to reduce discomfort in critically ill patients: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Critically ill patients are exposed to stressful conditions and experience several discomforts. The primary objective was to assess whether a tailored multicomponent program is effective for reducing self-perceived discomfort.

Methods: In a cluster-randomized two-arm parallel trial, 34 French adult intensive care units (ICUs) without planned interventions to reduce discomfort were randomized, 17 to the arm including a 6-month period of program implementation followed by a 6-month period without the program (experimental group), and 17 to the arm with an inversed sequence (control group).

Reduction of self-perceived discomforts in critically ill patients in French intensive care units: study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: It is now well documented that critically ill patients are exposed to stressful conditions and experience discomforts from multiple sources. Improved identification of the discomforts of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) may have implications for managing their care, including consideration of ethical issues, and may assist clinicians in choosing the most appropriate interventions. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a multicomponent program of discomfort reduction in critically ill patients.

Best practice for the pharmacological management of hyperthyroid cats with antithyroid drugs.

Pharmacological management of feline hyperthyroidism offers a practical treatment option for many hyperthyroid cats. Two drugs have been licensed for cats in the last decade: methimazole and its pro-drug carbimazole. On the basis of current evidence and available tablet sizes, starting doses of 2·5 mg methimazole twice a day and 10 to 15 mg once a day for the sustained release formulation of carbimazole are recommended.