Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Mar 2010
Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin is an early marker of acute kidney injury in adult critically ill patients: a prospective study.
The aim of the study was to assess the ability of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (pNGAL) to predict acute kidney injury (AKI) in adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ⋯ Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin at ICU admission is an early biomarker of AKI in adult ICU patients. Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin increased 48 hours before RIFLE criteria.
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Journal of critical care · Mar 2010
Insight in microcirculation and histomorphology during burn shock treatment using in vivo confocal-laser-scanning microscopy.
Microcirculatory disturbances are well known during shock; however, the accompanied histomorphological alterations are widely unknown. We used high resolution confocal-laser-scanning microscopy for the evaluation of microcirculation and histomorphology during Burn Shock treatment. ⋯ Confocal-laser-scanning microscopy provides a noninvasive tool for simultaneous evaluation of microcirculation and tissue histomorphology. It may help to assess the adequacy of and response to resuscitation of burn patients early after trauma.
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Journal of critical care · Mar 2010
ReviewBiosignal analysis techniques for weaning outcome assessment.
Discontinuation of mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients is a challenging task and involves a careful weighting of the benefits of early extubation and the risks of premature spontaneous breathing trial. Recently, apart from studying different physiological variables by means of descriptive statistical tests, breathing pattern variability analysis has been performed for the assessment of weaning readiness. A limited number of clinical studies implementing different weaning protocols in heterogeneous groups of patients and using a variable set of signal processing techniques have appeared in the critical care literature, with varying results. The purpose of this review article is 3-fold: (1) to describe the different signal processing techniques being implemented for the assessment of weaning readiness, (2) to provide insight into the pathophysiological mechanisms that may govern breath-to-breath variability/complexity in health and disease, and (3) to present results from the critical care literature derived from the application of biosignal analysis tools for the identification of possible weaning indices.
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Journal of critical care · Mar 2010
Factors associated with anemia in patients with cancer admitted to an intensive care unit.
The study aimed to evaluate the relative impact of clinical and demographic factors associated with the prevalence and incidence of anemia (hemoglobin [Hb] <12 g/dL) in critically ill patients with cancer. ⋯ Clinical factors are more influential than demographic factors in the observed rates of prevalence and incidence of anemia in the ICU; thus, protocols are needed to identify subgroups of patients with cancer who could benefit from novel management strategies.
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The study aimed to examine query strategies that would provide an exhaustive search method to retrieve the most referenced articles within specific categories of critical care. ⋯ Retrieving frequently cited, influential articles in critical care requires using multiple search terms and manuscript sources. Periodic compilations of most cited articles may be useful for critical care practitioners and researches to keep abreast of important information.