Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 2001
ReviewInternational Consensus Conferences in Intensive Care Medicine: non-invasive positive pressure ventilation in acute respiratory failure. Organised jointly by the American Thoracic Society, the European Respiratory Society, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, and the Société de Réanimation de Langue Française, and approved by the ATS Board of Directors, December 2000.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 2001
Plasma glutamine depletion and patient outcome in acute ICU admissions.
To evaluate whether low plasma glutamine (PG) is related to severity of illness, and actual and predicted hospital mortality. ⋯ Low PG at acute ICU admission is related to higher age, shock as primary diagnosis, and higher hospital mortality. Low PG represents a risk of poor outcome, not fully reflected in the presently used mortality prediction systems.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 2001
Comparative StudyComparison of procalcitonin with C-reactive protein and serum amyloid for the early diagnosis of bacterial sepsis in critically ill neonates and children.
To evaluate procalcitonin (PCT) as a diagnostic marker of bacterial sepsis in critically ill neonates and children and to compare the results of PCT with those of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid (SAA). ⋯ In critically ill children PCT concentration is a better diagnostic marker of sepsis than CRP and SAA. In critically ill neonates, however, PCT, CRP, and SAA are similar diagnostic markers of sepsis. A PCT concentration higher than 8.1 ng/ml identified all children with bacterial sepsis.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 2001
The value of capillary whole blood lactate for blood transfusion requirements in anaemia of prematurity.
To evaluate the usefulness of blood lactate as an indication for blood transfusion in anaemia of prematurity by means of a study protocol which considers the site of blood sampling and the repeatability of lactate measurements. ⋯ Capillary whole blood lactate measurements in newborn babies agree excellently with arterial values. Lactate measurements add little information to the decision whether to transfuse or not, considering the variability of this parameter in stable premature infants and the lack of correlation with other possible clinical indicators of compromised oxygen delivery.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 2001
Survey of the use of intracranial pressure monitoring in children in the United Kingdom.
To establish current practice for the monitoring and management of acute intracranial hypertension in children in United Kingdom intensive care units (ICUs). ⋯ Faced with a lack of both evidence and consensus, the management of acute intracranial hypertension in childhood varies widely. National or international guidelines for the management of children with raised intracranial pressure are needed. These should incorporate the physiological differences between children of different ages.