[Fortuna and Serendipity: history of some drugs used in Pediatric Intensive Care]

Serendipity has played a crucial role in the history of many different areas of science, including modern medicine. This corresponds to the ability to make a discovery, which occurs accidentally or by chance, in combination with the sagacity of the observer. Many of the most important and revolutio nary findings in medical science, specifically pharmacology, involved serendipitous events of a natu re. Some examples related to drug discovery and pharmacological research are briefly reviewed, such as the history of benzodiazepines, chloral hydrate, clonidine, warfarin, Ringer's solution, valproic acid, barbiturates, penicillin and insulin, in which there were events related to serendipity. All these drugs or their derivatives are currently in frequent use in Intensive Care Units.