Page 293 of 376
The PROWESS (Recombinant Human Activated Protein C Worldwide Evaluation in Severe Sepsis) trial demonstrated a 6.1% absolute decrease in mortality with a p value of 0.005. Despite the impressive results of this t...
Medication errors in the intensive care unit (ICU) are frequent and lead to attributable patient morbidity and mortality, increased length of ICU stay and substantial extra costs. We investigated if the introd...
Tight glycaemic control is an important issue in the management of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The glycaemic goals described by Van Den Berghe and colleagues in their landmark study of intensive insuli...
Recent studies have suggested that combination antibiotic therapy is preferable to monotherapy for severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). In this issue Mortensen and colleagues present retrospective data s...
Statins have a variety of properties that are independent of their lipid lowering ability. These anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiapoptotic features have been collectively referred to ...
The present study was designed to compare cerebral hemodynamics assessed using the blood flow index (BFI) derived from the kinetics of the tracer dye indocyanine green (ICG) with transcranial Doppler ultrasoun...
Most case series suggest that less than half of the patients receiving a mechanical cardiac assist device as a bridge to recovery due to severe post-cardiotomy heart failure survive to hospital discharge. Levo...
Disturbed protein C (PC) pathway homeostasis might contribute to the development of multiple organ failure (MOF) in acute pancreatitis (AP). We therefore evaluated circulating levels of PC and activated protei...
β2 agonists have several properties that could be beneficial in acute lung injury (ALI). We therefore chose to study the effect of inhaled β2 agonist use (salbutamol) on duration and severity of ALI.
Liver microcirculation disturbances are a cause of hepatic failure in sepsis. Increased leukocyte-endothelial interaction, platelet adherence and impaired microperfusion cause hepatocellular damage. The time c...
Metabolic alkalosis is a commonly encountered acid–base derangement in the intensive care unit. Treatment with the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor acetazolamide is indicated in selected cases. According to the qu...
An increasing body of evidence from laboratory and clinical studies suggests that vasopressin may represent a promising alternative vasopressor for use during cardiac arrest and resuscitation. Current guidelin...
The clinical value of daily routine chest radiographs (CXRs) in critically ill patients is unknown. We conducted this study to evaluate how frequently unexpected predefined major abnormalities are identified w...
The nutritional status of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) appears to decline not only during their stay in the ICU but also after discharge from the ICU. Recent evidence suggests that gut released pe...
Problems with antibiotic resistant bacteria are increasing in the hospital and particularly in the intensive care unit. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumanii and extended spectrum be...
The short-term mortality benefit of lower tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) for patients with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) has been demonstrated in a large, multi-center rando...
When communications are needed the most desperately and most urgently, the difficulty of effecting the desired communications increases exponentially. Recent natural disasters in different parts of the world h...
Well developed disaster plans are essential in today's atmosphere of natural and man-made disasters. We describe the problems faced by a community hospital on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during and in the wake ...
The medical support for the coordinated effort for Harris County Texas (Houston) to rescue evacuees from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina was part of an integrated collaborative network. Both public hea...
Even more than in previous disasters, Katrina has proven itself to be a testing ground for a plethora of new technologies. Although not all of these technologies did immediately save lives, in this regard a nu...
Hurricane Katrina came ashore in Louisiana at approximately 07:00 hours on Monday, 29 August 2005. The storm washed away a swathe of the Louisiana coastline, destroyed large portions of the city of New Orleans...
A major disaster occurred in a major city in the USA. The aftermath produced significant difficulties in patient care. Failure of the communication system, lack of command and control, and incomplete planning ...
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed an entire beloved city and shattered a large part of the US Gulf Coast. Unlike the destruction of 9/11, it is difficult to say at the time of this writing whether or not t...
Unique among animals, humans survive not by superb physical adaptation to our environment, but rather by intelligent, large-scale adaptation of the environment to our needs. We build houses with climate contro...
The preferred analysis for studies of mortality among patients treated in an intensive care unit should compare the proportions of patients who died during hospitalization. Studies that look for prognostic cov...
In the early phase of their disease process, patients with acute lung injury are often ventilated with strategies that control the tidal volume or airway pressure, while modes employing spontaneous breathing a...
National clinical practice guidelines have recommended specific empiric antimicrobial regimes for patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia. However, evidence confirming improved mortality with many of...
The study sought to assess the feasibility and accuracy of measuring mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) through the left main bronchus (SpO2trachea)
We aimed to determine the adverse events and important prognostic factors associated with interfacility transport of intubated and mechanically ventilated adult patients.
Kaplan–Meier curves and logistic models are widely used to describe and explain the variability of survival in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The Kaplan–Meier approach considers that patients discharged a...
The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) is an international effort to reduce mortality in severe sepsis and septic shock. The campaign included the creation of evidence-based guidelines sponsored and endorsed by 1...
Prediction of ventilation weaning outcome in children is important, as unsuccessful extubation increases both morbidity and mortality. Adult weaning criteria are poor predictors of weaning outcome in children ...
Lactate, indispensable substrate of mammalian intermediary metabolism, allows shuttling of carbons and reducing power between cells and organs at a high turnover rate. Lactate is, therefore, not deleterious, a...
The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score is widely used in the intensive care unit (ICU) as a scoring system for research and clinical audit purposes. Physiological data for calcula...
Histological examination of lung specimens from patients with pneumonia shows the presence of desquamated pneumocytes and erythrophages. We hypothesized that these modifications should also be present in bronc...
During the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis, we proposed and tested a new protocol for cardiac arrest in a patient with SARS. The protocol was rapidly and effectively instituted by teamwork...
A comparison of the amount of and the kinetics of induction of procalcitonin (PCT) with that of C-reactive protein (CRP) during various types of and severities of multiple trauma, and their relation to trauma-...
Intensive monitoring and aggressive management of perioperative haemodynamics (goal directed therapy) have repeatedly been reported to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality associated with high risk s...
Sepsis and septic shock continue to contribute to our workload and stimulate our research activities although many fundamental questions remain. Studies reported on here focus on inotrope use and a novel way o...
Critical Care