At the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 27 patients were admitted to the adult medical intensive care unit (MICU) with confirmed H1N1 respiratory failure between Apr. 23 and June 30. Patient demographics of the Winnipeg ICU cohort were similar to 10 reported cases in Michigan. Both patient populations suffered from severe ARDS and required prolonged ventilatory support. We observed substantial increases in the use of sedative agents and empiric antibiotics during this recent outbreak in our adult MICU. As part of pandemic planning and capacity building, we encourage pharmacists, clinicians and planners to consider the amount of sedation and antimicrobials necessary to care for H1N1 patients in the ICU.
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For the full letter, go to: www.cmaj.ca/cgi/eletters/cmaj.091560#186706