Ketamine Use of Pediatric Sedation in Emergency Room

BACKGROUND: Ketamine use in emergency room has been increased. It has rapid onset of action and appropriate duration of action. It does not need endotracheal intubation and produces potent analgesia, sedation, and amnesia. The object of this study is to determine the safety and the degree of physician's satisfaction in relation to ketamine use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective study using protocol. Pediatric trauma patients who need sedation were given IM ketamine(4mg/kg) and atropine(0.01mg/kg) in a same syringe. Monitoring of patients was done by EM residents and complications of ketamine use were recorded. Physician's satisfaction was also recorded after the procedure. RESULTS: Intramuscular ketamine was administered 54 times, mainly for laceration repair. Physicians completed protocol for 51 of treated children. The median time for onset of sedation was 6.5+/-2.4 min, and duration of action was 32.4+/-10.8 min. Hypersalivation occurred in 9.8%(n=5); random movement 3.9%(n=2), emesis during procedure(n=1), emesis at home(n=1), and transient oxygen desaturation(n=1). All were quickly identified and treated without specific airway management and sequelae. Of 84% of physicians was satisfied with ketamine use for pediatric sedation. CONCLUSION: Intramuscular ketamine can be administered safely and satisfactorily in emergency room to facilitate pediatric procedures in conjunction with a defined protocol and appropriate monitoring.

The Relationship between Cerebral Reperfusion Flow and the Ischemic Histopathologic Damage after Incomplete Forebrain Ischemia in Rat Model

BACKGROUND: Experimental data indicate that low-flow reperfusion following prolonged cardiocirculatory arrest may aggravate early cerebral microcirculatory repefusion disorders. We investigated the influence of cerebral repefusion flow change to the ischemic histopathologic damage of brain tissue after incomplete forebrain ischemia in rats. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats were undergone ligation of both infernal carotid artery by microvascular clamp for 10 minutes. After release of the clamp, reperfusion was started with several different flow levels (0, 10, 20, 30, 50, and 100%) of infernal carotid artery comparing to pre-clamping phase using flowmeter. After 15minutes of reperfusion, rat brains were prepared by perfusion-fixation with 3% formaldehyde. Under light microscopic examination of Hematoxylin-Eosin stained tissue slide, histopathologic damage was examined at cortex, putamen, and hippocampus regions. Categorical hisotopathologic damage scores were derived in each regions by manual counts of ischemic neurons. RESULT: The histopathologic damage scores were 0, 10. 2+/-0.5, 7.6+/-1.5, 5.9+/-1.4, 5.0+/- 2.8, 3.5+/-0.7, and 1.0+/-0.0 in control, 0, 10, 20, 30, 50, and 100% reperfusion groups, respectively(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our insults showed significant increment of brain histopathologic damage scores along with decreasing amount of cerebral reperfusion know after incomplete forebrain ischemia. We believe restoration of repefusion flow to pre-ischemic level would be a critical component in attenuation of brain ischemic damage.