Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2019
"You helped me keep my head above water"-experience of bereavement research after loss of a loved one in the ICU: insights from the ARREVE study.
Bereavement research has helped to improve end-of-life practices in the ICU. However, few studies have explored bereaved relatives experience of research participation in this context. We aimed to explore the experience of bereaved relatives' participation in the ARREVE study which included three telephone follow-up calls to complete several quantitative tools. ⋯ Although some emotional difficulties must be acknowledged, bereavement research is overall associated with benefits, by facilitating emotional adjustments, meaning-making and resilience. Lack of support and social isolation during bereavement are frequent experiences, revealing that support strategies for bereaved relatives should be developed after the loss of a loved one in the ICU.
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To provide an update about the rapidly developing changes in the critical care management of acute ischaemic stroke patients. ⋯ While consensus guidelines are available to guide clinical decision making after acute ischaemic stroke, there is limited high-quality evidence for many of the recommended interventions. However, a bundle of medical, endovascular, and surgical strategies, when applied in a timely and consistent manner, can improve long-term stroke outcomes.
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This narrative review focuses on thoracic ultrasonography (lung and pleural) with the aim of outlining its utility for the critical care clinician. The article summarizes the applications of thoracic ultrasonography for the evaluation and management of pneumothorax, pleural effusion, acute dyspnea, pulmonary edema, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, interstitial processes, and the patient on mechanical ventilatory support. ⋯ Its ease of use, rapidity, repeatability, and reliability make thoracic ultrasonography the "go to" modality for imaging the lung and pleura in an efficient, cost effective, and safe manner, such that it can largely replace chest imaging in critical care practice. It is best used in conjunction with other components of critical care ultrasonography to yield a comprehensive evaluation of the critically ill patient at point of care.
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2019
Multicenter StudyPatient's characteristics and outcomes in necrotising soft-tissue infections: results from a Scandinavian, multicentre, prospective cohort study.
Necrotising soft-tissue infections (NSTI) are characterised by necrosis, fast progression, and high rates of morbidity and mortality, but our knowledge is primarily derived from small prospective studies and retrospective studies. ⋯ Patients with NSTI were heterogeneous regarding co-morbidities, initial symptoms, infectious localisation, and microbiological findings. Higher age and lactate levels were associated with increased mortality, and GAS infection with decreased mortality.
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Intensive care medicine · Sep 2019
Correction to: Continual hemodynamic monitoring with a single-use transesophageal echocardiography probe in critically ill patients with shock: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake.