Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2002
Comparative StudyPredictive value of procalcitonin and interleukin 6 in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis.
To evaluate the performance of procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein, leukocyte count, D-dimer, and antithrombin III at onset of septic episode and 24 h later in prediction of hospital mortality in critically ill patients with suspected sepsis. ⋯ Admission and day 2 IL-6, and day 2 PCT, and day 2 D-dimer values differed significantly between hospital survivors and nonsurvivors among critically ill patients with suspected sepsis. However, in prediction of hospital mortality, only the discriminative power of day 2 PCT and IL-6 values, and APACHE II was reasonable as judged by AUC analysis (>0.75).
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2002
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialNoninvasive ventilation for treating acute respiratory failure in AIDS patients with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.
To compare noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) vs. invasive mechanical ventilation in AIDS patients with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)-related acute respiratory failure (ARF). ⋯ The findings of this study seem to provide further support for applying NPPV in AIDS patients with severe PCP-related ARF as a first-line therapeutic choice, but randomized controlled trials are required to confirm our results.
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2002
Pulse oximeter-enhanced accuracy of capnometry in children with cyanotic heart disease.
To evaluate the relationship between the arterial end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) difference (deltapCO2) and the degree of desaturation in children with cyanotic heart disease (CHD) and to come to a more reliable estimation of the arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO2) from the end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure (PET-CO2). ⋯ Correcting the PET-CO2 for the degree of hypoxia using the SpO2 in artificially ventilated infants and children with CHD results in a clinically applicable estimation of the PaCO2. As both SpO2 and PET-CO2 can be monitored continuously and non-invasively, this could facilitate artificial ventilation management in children with CHD.
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialShort-term treatment of severe hypertension of pregnancy: prospective comparison of nicardipine and labetalol.
To assess the efficacy and safety of nicardipine in comparison to labetalol in the initial management of severe hypertension in pregnancy. DESIGN. Randomized prospective study. ⋯ Nicardipine and labetalol are effective and safe in the initial treatment of severe hypertension of pregnancy.