Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Jul 2009
ReviewPrinciples of antibacterial dosing in continuous renal replacement therapy.
To outline the concepts involved in optimizing antibacterial dosing in critically ill patients with acute renal failure undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), provide a strategy for optimizing dosing, and summarize the data required to implement the strategy. ⋯ Appropriate dose calculation requires knowledge of the pharmacokinetic target and the usual minimum inhibitory concentration of the suspected organism in the patient's locality (or if unavailable, the break point for the organism), published pharmacokinetic data (volume of distribution, non-CRRT clearance) on critically ill patients receiving CRRT (which may differ substantially from noncritically ill patients or those without renal failure), the sieving or saturation coefficient of the relevant drug in critically ill patients, the dose and mode of CRRT being used, and the actual dose of CRRT that is delivered. This large number of variables results in considerable inter- and intrapatient heterogeneity in dose requirements. This article provides basic principles and relevant data to guide the clinician in prescribing individualized dosing regimes.
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Critical care medicine · Jul 2009
ReviewDevelopment and implementation of a therapeutic hypothermia protocol.
Two randomized controlled trials published in 2002 demonstrated that mild hypothermia induced after resuscitation from cardiac arrest decreased mortality and improved neurologic outcomes. Although therapeutic hypothermia is relatively easy to implement, side effects and special nursing considerations are associated with this therapy. ⋯ Discussion highlights include patient selection, physiologic effects of hypothermia, routes of induction, nursing implications, protocol development and implementation, and review of current literature related to this topic. An established hypothermia protocol, order set, and education program can be successfully implemented in any institution providing standardized care of post-cardiac arrest patients.
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Fever in the neurocritical care setting is common and has a negative impact on outcome of all disease types. Meta-analyses have demonstrated that fever at onset and in the acute setting after ischemic brain injury, intracerebral hemorrhage, and cardiac arrest has a negative impact on morbidity and mortality. Data support that the impact of fever is sustained for longer durations after subarachnoid hemorrhage and traumatic brain injury. ⋯ However, there are no prospective randomized trials demonstrating the benefit of fever control in these patient populations, and important questions regarding indications and timing remain. The purpose of this review is to analyze the data surrounding the impact of fever across a range of neurologic injuries to better understand the optimal timing and duration of fever control. Prospective randomized trials are needed to determine whether the beneficial impact of secondary injury prevention is outweighed by the potential risks of prolonged fever control.
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Fever, commonly defined by a temperature of >or=38.3 degrees C (101 degrees F), occurs in approximately one half of patients admitted to intensive care units. Fever may be attributed to both infectious and noninfectious causes, and its development in critically ill adult medical patients is associated with an increased risk for death. ⋯ Although treatment of fever may improve patient comfort and reduce metabolic demand, fever is a normal adaptive response to infection and its suppression is potentially harmful. Clinical trials specifically comparing fever management strategies in neurologically intact critically ill medical patients are needed.
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Critical care medicine · Jul 2009
ReviewHypothermia for the treatment of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.
Hypothermia is considered nature's "gold standard" for neuroprotection, and its efficacy for improving outcome in patients with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury as a result of cardiac arrest is well-established. Hypothermia reduces brain edema and intracranial pressure in patients with traumatic brain injury. By contrast, only a few small pilot studies have evaluated hypothermia as a treatment for acute ischemic stroke, and no controlled trials of hypothermia for hemorrhagic stroke have been performed. ⋯ Sustained fever control is feasible in patients with intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage, but has yet to be tested in a phase III study. Important observations from studies investigating the use of hypothermia for stroke to date include the necessity for proactive antishivering therapy for successful cooling, the importance of slow controlled rewarming to avoid rebound brain edema, and the high risk for infectious and cardiovascular complications in this patient population. More research is clearly needed to bring us closer to the successful application of hypothermia in the treatment for stroke.