Journal of critical care
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2013
Risk of in-hospital mortality identified according to the typology of patients with acute heart failure: classification tree analysis on data from the Acute Heart Failure Database-Main registry.
The purposes of this study are to identify the strongest clinical parameters in relation to in-hospital mortality, which are available in the earliest phase of the hospitalization of patients, and to create an easy tool for the early identification of patients at risk. ⋯ The presented classification model effectively stratified patients with all syndromes of acute heart failure into in-hospital mortality risk groups and might be of advantage for clinical practice.
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2013
Impact of serum C-reactive protein measurements in the first 2 days on the 30-day mortality in hospitalized patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia: a cohort study.
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact of daily consecutive measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the initial 2 days of hospitalization on the 30-day all-cause mortality in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). ⋯ Fractional decrease less than 25% in CRP levels at the second day was significantly associated with 30-day all-cause mortality in hospitalized patients with severe CAP.
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2013
Clinical epidemiology of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections in an intensive care unit in China.
Central venous catheters (CVCs) are universally used during the treatment of critically ill patients. Their use, however, is associated with a substantial infection risk. At present, there are few studies on catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) that are comparable with international similar research. The aim of this study was to determine the rate, risk factors, and outcomes of CRBSIs in patients of an intensive care unit (ICU) in China. ⋯ The CRBSI rate in our ICU is higher compared with that reported by the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance and was associated with the applications of antibiotics before CRBSI and with the number of placed CVCs. Catheter-related bloodstream infections may be associated with a higher mortality rate and a higher incidence of ventilator-associated pulmonitis, which might lead to an increase in the total costs and medicine expenditures.
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2013
Effect of pulse pressure on the predictability of stroke volume variation for fluid responsiveness in patients with coronary disease.
We hypothesized that the predictability of stroke volume variation (SVV) on fluid responsiveness would be reduced in patients with coronary disease who have wide pulse pressure (PP). ⋯ In contrast to patients with normal PP, SVV does not predict fluid responsiveness in patients with coronary disease who have wide PP.