Frank Anthony Rasulo

1. Background There are various indications for sedation in the intensive care unit (ICU), including patient adaptation to mechanical ventilation, pain/agitation/anxiety management and implementation of invasive procedures. However, if sedation is prolonged or excessive, it can lead to relevant complications, including delirium [1,2,3,4]. Individual response to sedation itself may vary greatly, increasing the risk of oversedation.

Abstract Brain ultrasonography can be used to evaluate cerebral anatomy and pathology, as well as cerebral circulation through analysis of blood flow velocities. Transcranial colour-coded duplex sonography is a generally safe, repeatable, non-invasive, bedside technique that has a strong potential in neurocritical care patients in many clinical scenarios, including traumatic brain injury, aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage, hydrocephalus, and the diagnosis of cerebral circulatory arrest.

In the summer of 2014, an 86-year-old man returned from the wine cellar with a bottle of wine to accompany his meal, but was found to be wearing his parka, hood, and gloves. Thinking it was a prank, his son asked him, “Hello, Sir Shackleton”, referring to the famous polar explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, “is anyone else from your crew joining us for dinner?” However, the son, a Doctor, quickly realized that something was wrong when his father was not amused by the joke.