Conservative versus Liberal Oxygenation Targets in Intensive Care Unit Patients (ICONIC): A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Supplemental oxygen is widely administered to ICU patients, but appropriate oxygenation targets remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether a low-oxygenation strategy would lower 28-day mortality compared with a high-oxygenation strategy. This randomized multicenter trial included mechanically ventilated ICU patients with an expected ventilation duration of at least 24 hours.

Pain relief is associated with improvement in motor function in complex regional pain syndrome type 1: secondary analysis of a placebo-controlled study on the effects of ketamine.

Unlabelled: There are indications of motor circuit changes in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Nevertheless, although several studies have analyzed motor behavior in CRPS, a relation with pain could not be detected. This might be explained by the use of cross-sectional designs in these studies, in which pain is considered as a trait- rather than a state-dependent variable.

NMDA receptor antagonists for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Objective: The N-methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor has been proposed as a primary target for the treatment of neuropathic pain. The aim of the present study was to perform a meta-analysis evaluating the effects of (individual) NMDA receptor antagonists on neuropathic pain, and the response (sensitivity) of individual neuropathic pain disorders to NMDA receptor antagonist therapy.

Design: PubMed (including MEDLINE), EMBASE and CENTRAL were searched up to October 26, 2009 for randomized placebo controlled trials (RCTs) on neuropathic pain.

Ketamine produces effective and long-term pain relief in patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1 (CRPS-1) responds poorly to standard pain treatment. We evaluated if the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist S(+)-ketamine improves pain in CRPS-1 patients. Sixty CRPS-1 patients (48 females) with severe pain participated in a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled parallel-group trial.