Increasing Skin Pigmentation Following Severe Head Trauma: All That Glitters Is Not Gold!

Unlabelled: We report the case of a 67-year-old man who was admitted to our Intensive Care Unit because of traumatic brain injury. During his prolonged hospitalization, gradual darkening of the skin all over his body was observed. An excess corticotropin (ACTH) production syndrome was considered.

Immediate post-operative effects of tracheotomy on respiratory function during mechanical ventilation.

Introduction: Tracheotomy is widely performed in the intensive care unit after long-term oral intubation. The present study investigates the immediate influence of tracheotomy on respiratory mechanics and blood gases during mechanical ventilation.

Methods: Tracheotomy was performed in 32 orally intubated patients for 10.

Early phase changes by concurrent endurance and strength training.

To compare regimens of concurrent strength and endurance training, 26 male basketball players were matched for stature, body composition, and physical activity level. Subjects completed different training programs for 7 weeks, 4 days per week. Groups were as follows: (a) the strength group (S; n = 7) did strength training; (b) the endurance group (E; n = 7) did endurance training; (c) the strength and endurance group (S + E; n = 7) combined strength and endurance training; and (d) the control group (C; n = 5) had no training.

Muscular mass assessed by ultrasonography after administration of low-dose corticosteroids and muscle relaxants in critically ill hemiplegic patients.

Background Aims: The present study investigates the influence of low-dose and short- term administration of corticosteroids and muscle relaxants on the muscular mass (MM) in hemiplegic ICU patients, with the aid of ultrasonography (U/S).

Methods: Thirty-seven patients hospitalised in the ICU for 18.6+/-3.