Journal of intensive care medicine
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J Intensive Care Med · Oct 2017
Tolerability of Enteral Nutrition in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Septic Shock Who Require Vasopressors.
Enteral nutrition (EN) is often held in patients receiving vasopressor support for septic shock. The rationale for this practice is to avoid mesenteric ischemia. The objective of this study is to evaluate the tolerability of EN in patients with septic shock who require vasopressor support and determine factors associated with tolerance of EN. ⋯ Based on our observation, early EN may be tolerated and safely administered in patients with septic shock who are adequately fluid resuscitated and receive doses of < 0.14 μg/kg/min of norepinephrine equivalents.
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J Intensive Care Med · Oct 2017
The Association of Age With Short-Term and Long-Term Mortality in Adults Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
Based on the current literature, it is unclear whether advanced age itself leads to higher mortality in critically ill patients or whether it is due to the greater number of comorbidities in the elderly patients. We hypothesized that increasing age would increase the odds of short-term and long-term mortality after adjusting for baseline comorbidities in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ⋯ In critically ill patients, increasing age is associated with higher odds of short-term and long-term death after correcting for existing comorbidities.
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J Intensive Care Med · Oct 2017
Multidrug Resistance Acinetobacter Bacteremia Secondary to Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Risk Factors and Outcome.
Acinetobacter baumannii is a multidrug resistant (MDR), gram-negative bacterium commonly implicated in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in critically ill patients. Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) with VAP often subsequently develop A baumannii bacteremia, which may significantly worsen outcomes. ⋯ Although the presence of comorbid diseases (COPD and chronic renal failure) and severity of disease (APACHE > 20 and SOFA >7) were found to be independent risk factors for ICU mortality, MDR A baumannii bacteremia was not an independent risk factor for mortality in our critically ill population.