Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Mar 2019
Multicenter StudyTherapeutic Plasma Exchange in Children With Thrombocytopenia-Associated Multiple Organ Failure: The Thrombocytopenia-Associated Multiple Organ Failure Network Prospective Experience.
The objective was to compare the resolution of organ dysfunction, 28-day mortality, and biochemical markers in children with thrombocytopenia-associated multiple organ failure who received therapeutic plasma exchange versus no therapeutic plasma exchange. ⋯ Therapeutic plasma exchange use in thrombocytopenia-associated multiple organ failure was associated with a decrease in organ dysfunction. After accounting for several risk factors, 28-day all-cause mortality was lower in children treated with therapeutic plasma exchange compared with those receiving no therapeutic plasma exchange. A multicenter randomized clinical trial is necessary to determine a causal relationship.
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Critical care medicine · Mar 2019
Multicenter Study Observational StudyA Prognostic Enrichment Strategy for Selection of Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Clinical Trials.
Incomplete or ambiguous evidence for identifying high-risk patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome for enrollment into randomized controlled trials has come at the cost of an unreasonable number of negative trials. We examined a set of selected variables early in acute respiratory distress syndrome to determine accurate prognostic predictors for selecting high-risk patients for randomized controlled trials. ⋯ Combined thresholds for patient's age, PaO2/FIO2, plateau pressure, and extrapulmonary organ failure provides prognostic enrichment accuracy for stratifying and selecting acute respiratory distress syndrome patients for randomized controlled trials.
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Critical care medicine · Mar 2019
The Fragility and Reliability of Conclusions of Anesthesia and Critical Care Randomized Trials With Statistically Significant Findings: A Systematic Review.
The Fragility Index, which represents the number of patients responsible for a statistically significant finding, has been suggested as an aid for interpreting the robustness of results from clinical trials. A small Fragility Index indicates that the statistical significance of a trial depends on only a few events. Our objectives were to calculate the Fragility Index of statistically significant results from randomized controlled trials of anesthesia and critical care interventions and to determine the frequency of distorted presentation of results or "spin". ⋯ Statistically significant results in anesthesia and critical care randomized controlled trials are often fragile, and study conclusions are frequently affected by spin. Routine calculation of the Fragility Index in medical literature may allow for better understanding of trials and therefore enhance the quality of reporting.
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Critical care medicine · Mar 2019
ReviewHeterogeneity and Variability in Pressure Autoregulation of Organ Blood Flow: Lessons Learned Over 100+ Years.
Pressure autoregulation is an organ's intrinsic ability to maintain blood flow despite changes in perfusion pressure. The purpose of this review is to discuss autoregulation's heterogeneity among different organs and variability under different conditions, a very clinically relevant topic. ⋯ The organs with robust autoregulation are the brain, spinal cord, heart, and kidney. Skeletal muscle has moderate autoregulation. Nearly all splanchnic organs including the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, and pancreas possess weak autoregulation. Autoregulation can be readily affected by a variety of clinically relevant factors. Organs with weak or weakened autoregulation are at a greater risk of suboptimal perfusion when blood pressure fluctuates. Cerebral autoregulation and outcomes are closely related. These lessons learned over 100+ years are instructive in clinical care.