Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · May 1996
The role of gallium-67 scintigraphy in diagnosing sources of fever in ventilated patients.
To evaluate the diagnostic value of gallium-67 scintigraphy in febrile ventilated patients by correlating the findings of 67Ga scintigraphy to sources of fever and pulmonary density, as determined by a comprehensive protocolized diagnostic evaluation. ⋯ 67Ga scintigraphy should be considered only as an adjunct diagnostic test in the febrile, ventilated patient who has no obvious source of fever, despite a negative evaluation that includes testing for pneumonia, sinusitis, and urinary tract infection, conditions that are rarely detected by 67Ga scintigraphy.
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Intensive care medicine · May 1996
Review Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialContinuous measurement of cardiac output by the Fick principle in infants and children: comparison with the thermodilution method.
To compare a system that continuously monitors cardiac output by the Fick principle with measurements by the thermodilution technique in pediatric patients. ⋯ Continuous measurement of cardiac output by the Fick principle offers a convenient method for the hemodynamic monitoring of unstable infants and children.
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Intensive care medicine · May 1996
The effect of casemix adjustment on mortality as predicted by APACHE II.
To describe the effect of casemix on mortality as predicted by APACHE II scoring. ⋯ APACHE II did not accurately adjust for casemix in our data. Unless account is taken of differences in casemix, using mortality ratios to compare ICU is likely to be inaccurate and misleading.
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Intensive care medicine · May 1996
Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialAlbumin bolus administration versus continuous infusion in critically ill hypoalbuminemic pediatric patients.
To test the hypothesis that the rate of degradation of exogenously administered albumin is faster with bolus administration than with continuous infusion and thus that a bolus administration is less efficacious in restoring blood albumin concentration (BAC) in the hypoalbuminemic critically ill pediatric patient. ⋯ The half-life of exogenous albumin in the critically ill hypoalbuminemic pediatric patient is short if given as a bolus. Continuous infusion therapy appears to be more efficacious in increasing BAC over time, as the half-life with this method appears to be longer.
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Intensive care medicine · May 1996
Comparative StudyBlood lactate levels are better prognostic indicators than TNF and IL-6 levels in patients with septic shock.
Both serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and blood lactate levels in patients with septic shock have been shown to correlate with prognosis. The aim of the study was to define the relative predictive value of these measures. ⋯ These data indicate that the large variability in TNF alpha and IL-6 levels limit their prognostic significance in patients with septic shock. The predictive value of the trend in cytokine levels over time is not superior to that of trends in blood lactate levels.