Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Feb 2016
Comparative StudyAcute respiratory distress syndrome mimickers lacking common risk factors of the Berlin definition.
Some patients presenting with acute respiratory failure and meeting the Berlin criteria for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) lack exposure to common risk factors (CRF). These so-called ARDS mimickers often lack histological diffuse alveolar damage. We aimed to describe such ARDS mimickers lacking CRF (ARDS CRF-) in comparison with others (ARDS CRF+). ⋯ The absence of CRF among patients with ARDS is common and associated with a higher risk of mortality. For such atypical ARDS, a complete diagnostic workup, including bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology and chest CT scan patterns, should be performed to identify those patients who might benefit from specific therapies, including corticosteroids.
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Intensive care medicine · Feb 2016
Speckle tracking analysis allows sensitive detection of stress cardiomyopathy in severe aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.
Stress cardiomyopathy is a common life-threatening complication after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We hypothesized that left ventricular (LV) longitudinal strain alterations assessed with speckle tracking could identify early systolic function impairment. ⋯ On the basis of LV GLS assessment, we demonstrated for the first time that myocardial alteration compatible with a stress cardiomyopathy is detectable in up to 37 % of patients with severe SAH while LVEF is preserved. GLS could be used for sensitive detection of stress cardiomyopathy. This is critical because cardiac impairment remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality after SAH.
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Intensive care medicine · Feb 2016
Acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock: a multidisciplinary practical guidance.
Acute heart failure (AHF) causes high burden of mortality, morbidity, and repeated hospitalizations worldwide. This guidance paper describes the tailored treatment approaches of different clinical scenarios of AHF and CS, focusing on the needs of professionals working in intensive care settings. ⋯ A multidisciplinary approach along the entire patient journey from pre-hospital care to hospital discharge is needed to ensure early recognition, risk stratification, and the benefit of available therapies. Medical management should be planned according to the underlying mechanisms of various clinical scenarios of AHF.
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Intensive care medicine · Feb 2016
Fentanyl as pre-emptive treatment of pain associated with turning mechanically ventilated patients: a randomized controlled feasibility study.
To compare pain incidence and changes in pain scores with fentanyl versus placebo as pre-emptive treatment during turning and 30 min post-turning in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. ⋯ These results suggest an intravenous bolus of fentanyl of 1 µg/kg for medical patients or 1.5 µg/kg for surgical patients reduces the incidence of turning-associated pain in critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT 01950000.