Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2022
Transfusion and its association with mortality in patients receiving veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Patients receiving veno-arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (V-A ECMO) may require transfusion due to bleeding risk and desire to optimize oxygen delivery. The purposes of this study were to determine the transfusion requirements in patients receiving V-A ECMO and to determine if transfusion was associated with hospital mortality or complications. ⋯ Most patients receiving V-A ECMO are transfused multiple units of blood products. Receipt of transfusion or having a bleeding or ischemic complication was not associated with increased mortality.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2022
Peripheral blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with mortality across the spectrum of cardiogenic shock severity.
To evaluate the association between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mortality across the cardiogenic shock (CS) severity spectrum, defined using the Society of Cardiovascular Interventions and Angiography (SCAI) shock stages. ⋯ Elevated NLR is associated with higher in-hospital mortality in CICU patients with or at risk for CS, emphasizing the importance of systemic inflammation as a determinant of outcomes in CS patients.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2022
Observational StudyChanges in communication of end-of-life decisions in European ICUs from 1999 to 2016 (Ethicus-2) - a prospective observational study.
We investigated changes in communication practice about end-of-life decisions in European ICUs over 16 years. ⋯ End-of-life decisions are increasingly discussed but communication practices vary by region and follow a North-South gradient. Despite increased availability of information, patient preferences still remain unknown in every second patient. This calls for increased efforts to assess patient preference in advance and make them known to ICU clinicians.