Journal of critical care
-
Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
Simple bedside predictors of mechanical ventilation in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The objective of the study is to develop and validate a predictor score for assessing the requirement of mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). ⋯ Several independent risk factors were found to predict the requirement for MV in patients with GBS at admission. However, after scoring and analyzing them, it was found that combining a few of them was more useful to predict the need for MV. A model using NSB score, developed using clinical variables, accurately predicted the requirement of MV. In addition, among the NSB score parameters, simple bedside SBC could adequately assess the adequacy of vital capacity.
-
Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
Serum selenium and zinc levels in critically ill surgical patients.
The authors designed this study to determine how serum selenium and zinc affect the outcomes of critically ill surgical patients. ⋯ To determine the effects of serum selenium and zinc levels on critically ill surgical patients, a large-scale prospective study is needed.
-
Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist vs pressure support ventilation in infants recovering from severe acute respiratory distress syndrome: Nested study.
Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) is a new ventilator modality with an innovative synchronization technique. Our aim is to verify if NAVA is feasible and safe in terms of physiological and clinical variables in infants recovering from severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ⋯ Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist is safe and suitable in infants recovering from severe ARDS. It could provide better results than PSV and is worth to be investigated in a multicenter randomized trial.
-
Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
The effects of discharge to an intermediate care unit after a critical illness: A 5-year cohort study.
The impact of the intermediate care unit (IMCU) on post-intensive care unit (ICU) outcomes is controversial. ⋯ In a resource-limited setting with a high patient-to-nurse ratio, discharge to IMCU had no impact on 90-day mortality rate and on unplanned readmission rate. The impact of discharge to the IMCU on the outcome for critically ill patients should be evaluated in further studies.
-
Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
Assessment of plasma and red cell trace element concentrations, disease severity, and outcome in patients with critical illness.
The purpose of the study is to examine the value of both plasma and red cell trace element measurements when assessing nutritional status in patients with critical illness. ⋯ The altered plasma concentrations of zinc, selenium, and copper in patients with critical illness were primarily due to the effects of the systemic inflammatory response and do not reliably indicate their status.