Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2011
The impact of coagulation parameters on the outcomes of patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia requiring intensive care unit admission.
Coagulation abnormalities are frequent in patients with severe infections. However, the predictive value of d-dimer and of the presence of associated coagulation derangements in severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains to be thoroughly evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of coagulation parameters in patients with severe CAP admitted to the intensive care unit. ⋯ d-Dimer levels are good predictors of outcome in severe CAP and may augment the predictive ability of scoring systems as APACHE II and SOFA.
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2011
Significance of new-onset prolonged sinus tachycardia in a medical intensive care unit: a prospective observational study.
Few data are available on sinus tachycardia among medical intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We investigated new critical illnesses related to new-onset prolonged sinus tachycardia (NOPST) and the relationship of NOPST with ICU mortality. ⋯ Although NOPST was not associated with ICU mortality, it indicates the presence of new critical events in the medical ICU setting.
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2011
Serum β-d-glucan of critically ill patients with suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia: preliminary observations.
The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether β-d-glucan (BG) was associated with Candida in the lung and risk of death in patients with suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). ⋯ β-d-Glucan positivity in patients with a suspected VAP may be a marker for Candida in the lung and worse outcomes. Further validation of this postulate is warranted.
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2011
Nutritional support for critically ill patients: does duration correlate with mortality?
Few investigations have correlated long-term nutritional support (NS) with outcome in the intensive care unit, in comparison with NS for shorter periods. ⋯ Nutritional support of more than 18 days was associated with higher mortality. This finding persisted after adjustment for major risk factors, in agreement with the hypothesis that prolonged impossibility of oral alimentation is a marker of mortality in the intensive care unit setting.