Practical document on the management of hyponatremia in critically ill patients.

Hyponatremia is the most prevalent electrolyte disorder in Intensive Care Units. It is associated with an increase in morbidity, mortality and hospital stay. The majority of the published studies are observational, retrospective and do not include critical patients; hence it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions.

Hyperventilation Therapy for Control of Posttraumatic Intracranial Hypertension.

During traumatic brain injury, intracranial hypertension (ICH) can become a life-threatening condition if it is not managed quickly and adequately. Physicians use therapeutic hyperventilation to reduce elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) by manipulating autoregulatory functions connected to cerebrovascular CO reactivity. Inducing hypocapnia hyperventilation reduces the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO), which incites vasoconstriction in the cerebral resistance arterioles.

[Infectious endocarditis in the intensive care unit].

Objective: To study the characteristics, evolution and prognosis of patients with infectious endocarditis requiring treatment in the Intensive Care Unit.

Design: A prospective, observational cohort study of patients admitted due to infectious endocarditis.

Setting: Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital, a third - level center with a recruitment population of 493,145.

[External ventricular drainage in complete infarction of the medial cerebral artery].

Introduction: Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) due to complete middle cerebral artery territory infarction does not respond to medical treatment and is often followed by transtentorial herniation and death. Some authors have reported good outcome after performing decompressive hemicraniectomy in this condition. The potential clinical benefit of intracranial pressure reduction by means of an external ventriculostomy in such cases is unknown.