Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
High prolactin levels are associated with more delirium in septic patients.
We investigated whether high prolactin levels were associated with delirium in septic patients because neuropsychiatric disorders are frequently associated with hyperprolactinemia. ⋯ High prolactin levels may be a risk factor for delirium in septic patients.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
Procalcitonin cannot be used as a biomarker of infection in heart surgery patients with acute kidney injury.
We intended to assess how acute kidney injuy impacts on procalcitonin levels in cardiac surgery patients, with or without infection, and whether procalcitonin might be used as a biomarker of infection in acute kidney injuy. ⋯ In acute kidney injuy patients, high procalcitonin levels are a marker of acute kidney injuy but will not be able to differentiate infected from non-infected patients.
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The prevalence and outcomes of trauma patients requiring an unplanned return to the intensive care unit (ICU) and those initially admitted to a step-down unit or floor and subsequently upgraded to the ICU, collectively termed unplanned ICU (UP-ICU) admission, are largely unknown. ⋯ UP-ICU admission, although infrequent, was associated with significantly greater hospital length of stay, rate of major abdominal surgery, need for mechanical ventilation, and mortality rates than PL-ICU and NO-ICU admission groups.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
The organizational structure of an intensive care unit influences treatment of hypotension among critically ill patients: A retrospective cohort study.
Prior studies report that weekend admission to an intensive care unit is associated with increased mortality, potentially attributed to the organizational structure of the unit. This study aims to determine whether treatment of hypotension, a risk factor for mortality, differs according to level of staffing. ⋯ Patients with a hypotensive event on a weekend were less likely to be treated than patients with an event during high-staffing periods. No association between weekday nighttime staffing and hypotension treatment was observed. We conclude that treatment of a hypotensive episode relies on more than solely staffing levels.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
Clinical application of the ProVent score in Korean patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation: A 10-year experience in a university-affiliated tertiary hospital.
We evaluated the clinical usefulness of a prognostic scoring system ("the ProVent score") in Korean patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. ⋯ In our study, the ProVent score could be applied to predict 1-year mortality for patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation in Korea. Among variables contributing to this score, only thrombocytopenia was an independent prognostic factor for 1-year mortality.