Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
Randomized Controlled TrialClostridioides difficile infection in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients: A nested cohort study.
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a serious complication of critical illness. The objective of the study was to determine its incidence, prevalence, timing, severity, predictors, and outcomes. ⋯ Of 2650 patients, 86 were diagnosed with CDI during 90,833 hospital-days (0.95/1000 hospital-days); CDI prevalence was 3.2%. CDI incidence varied in timing; 0.3% patients had CDI pre-ICU, 2.2% in the ICU; an 0.8% developed CDI post-ICU. Relapse or recurrence of CDI was documented in 9.3% patients. Infections were mild/moderate in severity. Complications included septic shock (26.7%), organ failure (16.3%), and toxic megacolon requiring colectomy (1.2%). No risk factors for CDI were identified. CDI was not associated with hospital mortality. The duration of hospital stay was longer for those who had CDI compared those who did not, CONCLUSION: CDI was uncommon, severity was mild to moderate and not associated with mortality however CDI was associated with a longer hospital stay.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
ReviewAvoiding brain hypoxia in severe traumatic brain injury in settings with limited resources - A pathophysiological guide.
Cerebral oxygenation represents the balance between oxygen delivery, consumption and utilization by the brain, and therefore reflects the adequacy of cerebral perfusion. Different factors can influence the amount of oxygen to the brain including arterial blood pressure, hemoglobin levels, systemic oxygenation, and transfer of oxygen from blood to the cerebral microcirculation. ⋯ Several tools have been proposed for the assessment of cerebral oxygenation, including non-invasive/invasive or indirect/direct methods, including Jugular Venous Oxygen Saturation (SjO2), Partial Brain Tissue Oxygen Tension (PtiO2), Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), Transcranial Doppler, electroencephalography and Computed Tomography. In this manuscript, we aim to review the pathophysiology of cerebral oxygenation, describe monitoring technics, and generate recommendations for avoiding brain hypoxia in settings with low availability of resources for direct brain oxygen monitoring.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
ReviewDiabetes insipidus related to sedation in the intensive care unit: A review of the literature.
To identify cases of diabetes insipidus (DI) related to sedation in the ICU to determine which medications pose the greatest risk and understand patterns of presentation. ⋯ Awareness of the potential for sedatives to cause DI may lead to greater identification with swifter medication discontinuation and subsequent resolution of DI.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
Lower mean phosphate independently predicts mortality in critically ill patients: Results from a prospective cohort study.
To evaluate lower mean phosphate as a prognostic tool in critically ill patients. ⋯ Hypophosphatemia is frequent in the ICU, and was associated with unfavorable outcomes. This study introduces the importance of longitudinal monitoring of phosphate levels, since lower mean phosphate is an independent predictor of mortality in critically ill patients.
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Journal of critical care · Jun 2023
Drug-related causes attributed to acute kidney injury and their documentation in intensive care patients.
To investigate drug-related causes attributed to acute kidney injury (DAKI) and their documentation in patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). ⋯ Drug-related causes comprise a substantial part of AKI in the ICU patients. However, current unstructured DAKI documentation practice via clinical notes hampers our ability to gain better insights about DAKI occurrence. Therefore, both automating DAKI identification from the clinical notes and increasing structured DAKI documentation should be encouraged.