Page 148 of 376
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common causative pathogen in community-acquired pneumonia. Protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) is expressed by multiple cell types present in the lungs and can be activated ...
Sepsis is a complex clinical condition that is driven predominantly by deviations from the orderly stereotypic immunological response to infection. Much effort has been undertaken in the search for biomarkers ...
Initiating dialysis in acute kidney injury (AKI) in an intensive care unit (ICU) remains a subjective clinical decision. We examined factors and practice patterns that influence early initiation of dialysis in...
Although renal replacement therapy (RRT) is a common procedure in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), its efficacy remains uncertain. Patients who receive RRT usually have higher mortality ...
Two thirds of United States adults are overweight or obese, which puts them at higher risk of developing chronic diseases and of death compared with normal-weight individuals. However, recent studies have foun...
Intra-abdominal hypertension is frequent in surgical and medical critically ill patients. Intra-abdominal hypertension has a serious impact on the function of respiratory as well as peripheral organs. In the p...
Because of its relevance to the functioning of the central nervous system, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of different neuropsychiatric diseases. Whether the B...
Hospitalization increases the risk of a subsequent diagnosis of dementia. We aimed to identify diagnoses or events during a hospitalization requiring critical care that are associated with a subsequent dementi...
The rationale of urine alkalinization through intravenous sodium bicarbonate to prevent cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury relies on several pathophysiological arguments. Urine alkalinization is ea...
Acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by features other than increased pulmonary vascular permeability. Pulmonary vascular permeability combined with increased ext...
Several observational studies suggest that statins modulate the pathophysiology of sepsis and may prevent its progression. The aim of this study was to determine if the acute administration of atorvastatin red...
The physiological basis of physiotherapeutic interventions used in intensive care has been established. We must determine the optimal service approach that will result in improved patient outcome. The aim of t...
The study by Souza-Fonseca-Guimaraes and colleagues in the previous issue of Critical Care shows several alterations in blood natural killer (NK) characteristics during human sepsis and systemic inflammatory resp...
In 2011, numerous studies were published in Critical Care focusing on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, trauma, and some related airway, respiratory, and response time factors. In thi...
We review key research papers in cardiology and intensive care published during 2011in Critical Care and quote related studies published in other journalswhenever appropriate. Papers are grouped into the followin...
Contributions from the neurosciences to Critical Care in 2011 covered an array of topics. We learned about potential biomarkers for, and the effect of cerebral oxygen metabolism on, delirium, in addition to treat...
Increasing complexity and costs are a fundamental problem in critical care medicine, leading researchers to study opportunities and threats to continue to provide high-quality care in a more efficient health s...
Management of acute respiratory failure is an important component of intensive care. In this review, we analyze 21 original research articles published last year in Critical Care in the field of respiratory and c...
There is an ever-growing importance for critical assessment of benefits and harms of various strategies with regards to antibiotic stewardship, infection control, molecular detection of pathogens and adequate ...
To prevent clotting in the extracorporeal circuit during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) anticoagulation is required. Heparin is still the most commonly used anticoagulant. However, heparins increa...
Hu and coworkers in the previous issue of Critical Care provide evidence for the clinical relevance of proteinuria in the outcome of burn patients. Proteinuria is a common finding after severe burns, appears with...
Endotoxin detection in human patients has been a difficult challenge, in part due to the fact that the conserved active portion of the molecule (lipid A) is a relatively small epitope only amenable to binding ...
Early diagnosis of sepsis is vital to the clinical course and outcome of septic patients. Recently, soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) appears to be a potential marker of infect...
The role of the gaseous mediator hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in hemorrhagic shock is still a matter of debate. This debate is emphasized by the fact that available literature data on blood and tissue H2S concentration...
Diagnosis and classification of acute kidney injury was addressed systematically only 8 years ago when the classification called RIFLE (acronym of Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of function and End stage Kidney d...
Acute liver failure (ALF) is a life-threatening multisystem illness complicated by multiple organ failure (MOF) and haemodynamic disturbances. Morbidity and mortality remains high and various prognostic and sc...
In the previous issue of Critical Care, Muller and colleagues investigated whether respiratory variation in inferior vena cava diameter (ΔIVC) could be a useful predictor of fluid responsiveness in spontaneously ...
Acute deterioration of cirrhosis is associated with high mortality rates particularly in the patients who develop organ failure (OF), a condition that is referred to as acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), w...
Daily interruption of sedation (IS) has been implemented in 30 to 40% of intensive care units worldwide and may improve outcome in medical intensive care patients. Little is known about the benefit of IS in ac...
Rice TW, Wheeler AP, Thompson BT, deBoisblanc BP, Steingrub J, Rock, P. Enteral Omega-3 Fatty Acid, γ-Linolenic Acid, and Antioxidant Supplementation in Acute Lung Injury. JAMA. 2011; 306(14):1574-1581. PubMed...
Volatile anesthetic agents have been used for decades in the peri-operative setting. Data from the past 15 years have shown that pre-injury administration of volatile anesthetic can decrease the impact of isch...
Acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are characterised by severe hypoxemic respiratory failure and poor lung compliance. Despite advances in clinical management, morbidity and morta...
Antimicrobial stewardship involves a multifaceted approach aimed at combating the emergence of antibiotic resistance, improving patient outcomes, and controlling healthcare costs by optimizing antimicrobial us...
Severe hyperkalemia, with potassium (K+) levels ≥ 6.5 mEq/L, is a potentially life-threatening electrolyte imbalance. For prompt and effective treatment, it is important to know its risk factors, clinical manifes...
Endotracheal intubation in the ICU is associated with a high incidence of complications. Etomidate use is debated in septic shock because it increases the risk of critical illness-related corticosteroid insuff...
Observational studies show an independent association between increased glycemic variability and higher mortality in critically ill patients. Minimization of glycemic variability is therefore suggested as a ne...
Angiopoietin-1 is a Tie-2 receptor agonist that stabilizes vascular endothelium, promoting endothelial maturation and preventing capillary leak. Angiopoietin-2 is largely a competitive partial antagonist that ...
Blockade of the CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) attenuates inflammation and improves survival in a murine model of near lethal polymicrobial sepsis. However, given the multitude of cellular responses and infl...
Circulatory shock is common and associated with high morbidity and mortality. Appropriate shock treatment relies on a good understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying shock. In this article, ...
Acute respiratory failure is a dreaded and life-threatening event that represents the main reason for ICU admission. Respiratory events occur in up to 50% of hematology patients, including one-half of those ad...
Although early institution of adequate antimicrobial therapy is lifesaving in sepsis patients, optimal antimicrobial strategy has not been established. Moreover, the benefit of combination therapy over monothe...
Recognition of patterns of organ failure may be useful in characterizing the clinical course of critically ill patients. We investigated the patterns of early changes in organ dysfunction/failure in intensive ...
Critical Care