POLYNEUROPATHIES IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS - A PROSPECTIVE EVALUATION

Objective: To determine the incidence, severity and course of polyneur opathies in patients with sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syn drome combined with multiple organ failure. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Division of Intensive Care Medicine of the Department of Ane sthesiology and Intensive Care and Intensive Care Unit of the Departme nt of Neurology, University Hospital Innsbruck, Austria. Patients: Twe nty-two patients between 23 and 77 years old with sepsis or systemic i nflammatory response syndrome combined with multiple organ failure ful filling strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Interventions: Clinic al neurologic examination and electromyography/nerve conduction veloci ty measurements during the stay on the Intensive Care Unit and 2-3 mon ths later. Measurements and results: In 9 of the 22 patients signs of polyneuropathy were found at the initial clinical investigation and in 7 patients at the follow-up investigation. Electrophysiologic investi gation revealed signs of polyneuropathy in 18 patients initially and i n 11 patients 2-3 months later. Conclusion: In our patient population the frequency of the development of polyneuropathy was high (81.8%). E lectrophysiologic investigation is superior to clinical neurologic exa mination in the detection of polyneuropathies.