Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2019
Observational StudySurvival of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients after admission to the intensive care unit for acute respiratory failure: an observational cohort study.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) entails a risk of acute respiratory failure (ARF). The decision to admit such patients to the intensive care unit (ICU) is difficult given the inexorable prognosis of ALS. To fuel this discussion, this study describes the ICU and post-ICU survival of ALS-related ARF. ⋯ The prognosis of ALS-related ARF requiring ICU admission resembles that of ARF complicating other conditions with high short-term mortality (e.g. lung cancer).
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2019
Review Meta AnalysisEffects of antiplatelet therapy on the mortality rate of patients with sepsis: A meta-analysis.
Abnormal platelet activation plays an important role in the development of sepsis. The effect of antiplatelet drugs on the outcome of patients with sepsis remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effect of antiplatelet drugs on the prognosis of patients with sepsis. ⋯ Antiplatelet drugs, particularly aspirin, could be used to effectively reduce mortality in patients with sepsis.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2019
Severity of illness assessment with application of the APACHE IV predicted mortality and outcome trends analysis in an academic cardiac intensive care unit.
To assess trends in life support interventions and performance of the automated Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) IV model at mortality prediction compared with Oxford Acute Severity of Illness Score (OASIS) in a contemporary cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). ⋯ Contemporary CICU patients are increasingly ill, observed in upward trends in comorbid conditions and life support interventions. APACHE IV predicted death and OASIS showed good discrimination in predicting death in this population. APACHE IV and OASIS may be useful for benchmarking and quality improvement initiatives in the CICU, the former having better discrimination.