Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Dec 2015
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAssociation between blood alcohol concentration and mortality in critical illness.
In animal models of renal, intestinal, liver, cardiac, and cerebral ischemia, alcohol exposure is shown to reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury. Inpatient mortality of trauma patients is shown to be decreased in a dose-dependent fashion relative to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at hospital admission. In this study, we examined the association between BAC at hospital admission and risk of 30-day mortality in critically ill patients. ⋯ Analysis of 11850 adult patients showed that having a detectable BAC at hospitalization was associated with significantly decreased odds of 30-day mortality after critical care. Furthermore, BAC greater than 160 mg/dL is associated with significantly decreased odds of developing sepsis and bloodstream infection.
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Journal of critical care · Dec 2015
ReviewImportant clinician information needs about family members in the intensive care unit.
Clinicians often lack key information regarding intensive care unit (ICU) families. Our objective was to identify (1) important information for clinicians to know about ICU families when making decisions and (2) important information for families to know about patients from clinicians. ⋯ Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, we identified important information for ICU clinicians to know about family members and for family members to know about patients. The identified information can be used to guide strategies and tools to improve assessment of and communication with families.
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Journal of critical care · Dec 2015
Effectiveness of surgical rib fixation on prolonged mechanical ventilation in patients with traumatic rib fractures: A propensity score-matched analysis.
We investigated whether surgical rib fixation improved outcomes in patients with traumatic rib fractures. ⋯ Surgical rib fixation within 10 days of hospital admission may improve outcomes in patients with traumatic rib fractures.
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Journal of critical care · Dec 2015
Review Meta AnalysisProtocolized sedation effect on post-ICU posttraumatic stress disorder prevalence: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.
Strategies aiming light sedation are associated with decreased length on mechanical ventilation. However, awake or easily arousable patients may be prone to greater prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the safety of light sedation strategies regarding the prevalence of PTSD. ⋯ Light sedation strategies seem to be safe in terms of PTSD prevalence. However, the small number of included trials and patients may not be sufficient to drive strong statements.