Intensive care unit;critical care

Corticosteroids play an important role in responding to physiologic stress in the human body. However, its application in critical care remains heavily debated. The purpose of this study was to identify patient characteristics associated with receiving stress-dose steroids during the intensive care unit stay after traumatic injury and its effect on in-hospital mortality. Patients admitted to the University of Virginia trauma center between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2015, were identified using our Trauma Registry...

OBJECTIVES: Hypernatraemia is one of the major electrolyte disorders associated with mortality among critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs). It is unclear whether this applies to patients with cerebrovascular diseases in whom high sodium concentrations may be allowed in order to prevent cerebral oedema. This study aimed to examine the association between ICU-acquired hypernatraemia and the prognosis of patients with cerebrovascular diseases. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study...

BACKGROUND: Continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRTs) either as continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) or hemodiafiltration (CVVHD) are used frequently in critically ill children. Many clinical variables and technical issues are known to affect the result. The factors that could be modified to increase the survival of renal replacement are sought. As a contribution, we present the data on 104 patients who underwent CRRT within a 7-year period. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A total of 104 patients admitted between 2009 and 2016 were included in the study...

Relocation of large numbers of critically ill patients between hospitals is sometimes necessary and the risks associated with relocation may be high. In the setting of adherence to an interhospital intensive care unit (ICU) relocation protocol, we aimed to determine whether the interhospital relocation of all ICU patients in a single day is associated with changes in vital signs, device removal, and worse clinical outcomes. We conducted a prospective, observational, cohort study of all critically ill adults admitted to a tertiary medical center's ICUs on the day of a planned hospital relocation and exposed to interhospital ICU relocation compared with unexposed critically ill adults...

Objectives: Therapy outcomes for newly diagnosed, critically ill lung cancer patients have seldom been evaluated. This study evaluated therapy outcomes for treatment-naïve lung cancer patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Materials and Methods: Patients were excluded if they had previously received lung cancer treatment, such as systemic chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiotherapy, or surgical lung resection before ICU admission. The therapeutic strategies for the treatment-naïve patients were determined while they were in the ICU...

OBJECTIVE: Anticoagulation remains the standard of care for line-associated upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (UEDVT). This treatment carries the risk of hemorrhagic complications, possibly more so in surgical patients. Considering the low-risk profile of UEDVT-which is associated with fewer, less severe pulmonary emboli than lower extremity deep venous thrombosis-current UEDVT treatment guidelines may be overly aggressive. The goal of this study was to review outcomes of line-associated UEDVT in critically ill patients and to define the efficacy of current treatment protocols in pulmonary embolism (PE) prevention while avoiding hemorrhagic complications...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to determine if training in transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) using a TEE simulator improves the ability of novice operators to perform and interpret a focused critical care TEE. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, controlled study with blinded outcome assessment, 44 intensive care unit trainees were randomly assigned to a control group receiving 4 hours of lecture-based training only, or an intervention group which was additionally trained for 4 hours using a TEE simulator...

Both babies and their parents may experience a stay in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) as a traumatic or a 'toxic stress,' which can lead to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and ultimately to poorly controlled cortisol secretion. Toxic stresses in childhood or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are strongly linked to poor health outcomes across the lifespan and trauma-informed care is an approach to caregiving based on the recognition of this relationship. Practitioners of trauma-informed care seek to understand clients' or patients' behaviors in light of previous traumas they have experienced, including ACEs...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the presence of agitation in traumatic brain injury patients treated with amantadine with those not treated with amantadine in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study conduced in a trauma ICU of a tertiary care institution in the United States. Patients who received amantadine were compared with patients who did not receive amantadine. The primary outcome measure was the presence of agitation, defined as the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale score of +2 or higher...

Acute cardiovascular care has progressed considerably since the last position paper was published 10 years ago. It is now a well-defined, complex field with demanding multidisciplinary teamworking. The Acute Cardiovascular Care Association has provided this update of the 2005 position paper on acute cardiovascular care organisation, using a multinational working group. The patient population has changed, and intensive cardiovascular care units now manage a large range of conditions from those simply requiring specialised monitoring, to critical cardiovascular diseases with associated multi-organ failure...

BACKGROUND: Troponin I (TnI) is frequently elevated in critical illness, but its interpretation is unclear. Our primary objectives in this study were to evaluate whether TnI is associated with hospital mortality and if this association persists after adjusting for potential confounders. We also aimed to ascertain whether addition of TnI to the Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) risk prediction model improves its performance in general intensive care unit (ICU) populations...

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) can be divided into two subphenotypes, resolving or nonresolving, on the basis of the trajectory of serum creatinine. It is unknown if the biology underlying these two AKI recovery patterns is different. METHODS: We measured eight circulating biomarkers in plasma obtained from a cohort of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 1241) with systemic inflammatory response syndrome...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the agreement between the modified Nutrition Risk in Critically ill Score (mNUTRIC) and the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and compare their ability in discriminating and quantifying mortality risk independently and in combination. METHODS: Between August 2015 and October 2016, all patients in a Singaporean hospital received the SGA within 48 hours of intensive care unit admission. Nutrition status was dichotomized into presence or absence of malnutrition...

Patient Blood Management underscores a fundamental shift from a product-centered approach to a patient-centric approach through timely application of evidence-based medical and surgical concepts designed to maintain hemoglobin concentration, optimize hemostasis, and minimize blood loss in an effort to improve patient outcome. In this concept, allogeneic blood transfusion is not viewed as the treatment of default for anemic patients, but one among many treatment modalities that should be weighed based on its merits-potentials risks and benefits-for the individual patient in the context of other alternatives...

PURPOSE: Medical patients whose care needs exceed what is feasible on a general ward, but who do not clearly require critical care, may be admitted to an intermediate care unit (IMCU). Some IMCU patients deteriorate and require medical intensive care unit (MICU) admission. In 2012, staff in the Johns Hopkins IMCU expressed concern that patient acuity and the threshold for MICU admission were too high. Further, shared triage decision-making between residents and supervising physicians did not consistently occur...

RATIONALE: Loss of skeletal muscle mass and function is a common consequence of critical illness and a range of chronic diseases but the mechanisms by which this occurs are unclear. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify miRNAs that were increased in the quadriceps of patients with muscle wasting and to determine the molecular pathways by which they contributed to muscle dysfunction. METHODS: miR-542-3p/-5p were quantified in the quadriceps of patients with COPD and intensive care unit acquired weakness (ICUAW)...

Thrombocytopenia is a hematological finding commonly encountered in daily clinical practice from asymptomatic clinic patients to critically ill intensive care unit patients. A broad spectrum of etiologies and variation in clinical presentation often present a diagnostic challenge. Furthermore, concomitant presence of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia, as in cases of thrombotic thrombocytopenia, complicates the management. In hospitalized patients, new-onset thrombocytopenia is an important reason for hematology consultation...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Oliguric acute kidney injury (AKI), commonly attributed to a more severe degree of renal injury, is associated with poorer prognosis than nonoliguric form. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of furosemide therapy on kidney function and on the level of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in critically hospitalized patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 106 ICU patients with AKI were assigned into furosemide and control groups...

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients are considered a high-risk group for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE). Due to their impaired cardiopulmonary reserve, these VTEs may result in significant morbidity and mortality. In this study, we compared two types of low molecular weight heparin, enoxaparin, and bemiparin, as regards to their efficacy and safety in VTE prevention among Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: This study was a prospective, randomized trial of 100 critically ill patients who are at high risk for developing VTE were included in this study and assigned to receive subcutaneous injections of either 3500 international units (IU) anti-factor Xa of bemiparin sodium or 40 mg of enoxaparin given once a day and patient were followed for 60 days after initiation of anticoagulant therapy for the development of documented deep venous thrombosis (DVT) using bilateral lower limb venous duplex, documented pulmonary embolism using computed tomography pulmonary angiography, and complications related to injectant anticoagulant...

BACKGROUND: Mothers of infants with complex congenital heart disease are exposed to increased stress which has been associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. The coping mechanisms these mothers use critically effect the familial illness adaptation and most likely infant outcomes. Currently no data-based strategies have been developed for mothers to facilitate their coping, and proactively promote their adaptation in the critical care settings. A potential strategy is mindfulness which is currently used in other clinical settings with stress-reduction effects...