[A study on the utility of flumazenil for patients in the ICU]

Flumazenil, a specific antagonist of benzodiazepines, was administered to adult patients receiving treatment at ICU, and its utility to hasten recovery from sedation was evaluated in 40 patients and its usefulness for differential diagnosis of sedated conditions was also evaluated in 5 patients. The efficacy rate for recovery from sedation induced by benzodiazepines was 85.0%. Moreover, flumazenil was considered to be useful for differentiation of sedated conditions when causes were unknown. Depression of respiration improved in association with improvement of consciousness level. In some patients an elevation in blood pressure was also observed with improved consciousness.