Management of Autism in the Adult Intensive Care Unit

We present the case of a 22-year-old male with severe autism and intellectual disorder who developed respiratory failure and required a prolonged ICU course. This patient exhibited severe distress, aggression, and self-injurious behavior. Management challenges included sedation, weaning from sedation, and liberation from mechanical ventilation. Success was achieved with a multispecialty team and by tailoring the environment and interactions to the patient’s known preferences. The use of dexmedetomidine to wean high-dose benzodiazepines and opiates also permitted successful liberation from mechanical ventilation.

Source: Journal of Intensive Care Medicine - January 3, 2014 Category: Intensive Care Authors: Hsieh, E., Oh, S. S., Chellappa, P., Szeftel, R., Jones, H. D. Tags: The Proceedings of Critical Care Conferences from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Source Type: research