Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 2006
Difference in reported pre-morbid health-related quality of life between ARDS survivors and their substitute decision makers.
Substitute decision makers may consider the pre-morbid health status of their critically ill loved one when making treatment decisions on her/his behalf. ⋯ Agreement between estimates of pre-morbid HRQOL provided by ARDS survivors and their substitute decision makers was poor. Compared with survivors, proxies tended to provide lower estimates of pre-morbid HRQOL. Substitute decision making for incapacitated patients is an imperfect process during which family members may underestimate their loved ones' own perception of pre-morbid health status. Alternatively, survivors of critical illness may overestimate pre-morbid HRQOL.
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 2006
Epidemiology and peculiarities of pediatric multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in New Delhi, India.
Most pediatric studies on multiple organ dysfunction syndrome derive from developed countries. There is little information regarding the etiologies and outcomes of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in critically ill children from developing countries. The objective of this study was to examine the differences in epidemiology of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and the relationship of the Organ Failure Index (OFI) to outcomes from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in critically ill children from a developing country. ⋯ In addition to "traditional" sepsis, common etiologies of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome included falciparum malaria, fulminant hepatic failure, and dengue shock syndrome. In developing countries like India, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome carries a significant risk of mortality which is directly related to the OFI.
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 2006
Alveolar recruitment assessed by positron emission tomography during experimental acute lung injury.
To compare changes in aerated lung volumes measured by positron emission tomography (PET) and inflation volume-pressure curve (V-P) of the respiratory system, and to evaluate the reliability of PET to assess alveolar recruitment. ⋯ PET is a new reliable tool of scientific interest to image lung volume and alveolar recruitment during acute lung injury.