Mechanical ventilation for comatose patients with inoperative acute intracerebral hemorrhage: possible futility of treatment.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Comatose patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) diagnosed as inoperative due to their severe comorbidity will be treated differently between countries. In certain countries including Japan, aggressive medical care may be performed according to the patients' family requests although the effects on the outcome are obscure. For respiratory distress in comatose patients with inoperative acute ICH, the role of mechanical ventilation on the outcome is unknown. We speculated that the efficacy of a ventilator in such a specific condition is limited and possibly futile.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated the in-hospital mortality and further outcome of 65 comatose patients with inoperative ICH. Among the patients, 56 manifested respiratory distress, and the e

SUBMITTER: Fukuhara T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4111623 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature