Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEfficacy and cardiovascular tolerability of continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration in acute decompensated heart failure: a randomized comparative study.
Recently, continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) has received increased attention in the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF). The aim of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of CVVHDF compared with intravenous furosemide in patients with CHF. ⋯ In CHF, the use of CVVHDF effectively and safely produced greater weight and fluid loss and decreased LOS in the ICU more than the intravenous furosemide with no hemodynamic instability.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2012
Cardiac manifestations in patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus infection needing intensive care.
To characterize the cardiac manifestations in severe pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus [P(H1N1)2009v] infection. ⋯ In our cohort of severe P(H1N1)2009v infection, myocardial injury and dysfunction was frequent and associated with high mortality.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2012
Manual compression of the abdomen to assess expiratory flow limitation during mechanical ventilation.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the manual compression of the abdomen (MCA) during expiration as a simple bedside method to detect expiratory flow limitation (EFL) during daily clinical practice of mechanical ventilation (MV). ⋯ Manual compression of the abdomen provides a simple, rapid, and safe bedside reliable maneuver to detect and quantify EFL during mechanical ventilation.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2012
Cerebral perfusion pressure, microdialysis biochemistry, and clinical outcome in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hematomas.
The aim of our study was to investigate the roles of cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) and microdialysis marker values on the clinical outcome of patients with spontaneous intracerebral hematoma. ⋯ The L/P ratio and CPP were found to be related to patient outcome. In addition, a CPP greater than 75.46 mm Hg and an L/P ratio lower than 37.40 mm Hg were related to a favorable outcome.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2012
Effect of an antibiotic algorithm on the adequacy of empiric antibiotic therapy given by a medical emergency team.
Delayed administration of effective antimicrobial therapy increases mortality in patients with septic shock. Empiric antibiotic selection in this setting can be inaccurate. The objective of this study was to determine whether an antibiotic algorithm (AA) tailored to institutional resistance patterns improves the adequacy of antimicrobial therapy. ⋯ The use of an AA significantly improves the adequacy of empiric antimicrobial therapy.