Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · May 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialDetermination of plasma volume by indocyanine green--validation of the method and use in patients after cardiopulmonary bypass.
Validation of plasma volume (PV) determination by indocyanine green (ICG) in comparison to the gold-standard method with radioiodinated albumin, and investigation of the effect of commonly used plasma expanders (albumin, hydroxyethyl starch, and polygelatine) on PV in the early postoperative phase in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. ⋯ PV determination by peripheral i. v. injection of ICG produced reliable and consistent results when a reactive hyperaemia was produced by a tourniquet prior to injection. Therefore, central venous injection of ICG may not be prerequisite for precise measurements of PV. The expected acute increase in PV after infusion of commonly used plasma expanders after cardiac surgery was not found.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialNeostigmine resolves critical illness-related colonic ileus in intensive care patients with multiple organ failure--a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Critical illness-related colonic ileus (CIRCI) is characterized by the non-passage of stools in critically ill patients as a result of the absence of prokinetic movements of the colon, while the upper gastrointestinal tract functions properly and mechanical ileus is absent: We investigated whether neostigmine resulted in defecation in patients with CIRCI. ⋯ Continuous infusion of 0.4-0.8 mg/h of neostigmine promotes defecation in ICU patients with a colonic ileus without important adverse reactions.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialGrowth hormone does not affect albumin synthesis in the critically ill.
To study the effect of growth hormone (GH) on albumin synthesis in critically ill patients. ⋯ Albumin synthesis rates were consistently higher in the two groups of critically ill patients than previously reported values in healthy subjects. However, GH treatment for 5 days neither stimulated nor inhibited albumin synthesis rates in these critically ill patients.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2001
Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist: evaluation of a new screening tool.
Delirium in the intensive care unit is poorly defined. Clinical evaluation is difficult in the setting of unstable, often intubated patients. A screening tool may improve the detection of delirium. ⋯ This study suggests that the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist can easily be applied by a clinician or a nurse in a busy critical care setting to screen all patients even when communication is compromised. The tool can be utilized quickly and helps to identify delirious patients. Earlier diagnosis may lead to earlier intervention and better patient care.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2001
Albumin supplementation during the first week after a burn does not mobilise tissue oedema in humans.
To measure water balance and changes in distribution, and the effect of giving supplementary albumin, early after a burn injury. ⋯ Body water increases after a burn. Excess water is mainly deposited in the extracellular space. Tissue oedema fluid is not mobilised by albumin supplementation.