American journal of surgery
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The integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is a major determinant of the host response to stress. Relative adrenal insufficiency has been implicated in poor outcome from systemic inflammatory states; however, whether low endogenous glucocorticoid levels are adaptive or pathologic remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the cortisol response and determine the incidence of occult adrenal insufficiency after severe trauma. ⋯ Serum cortisol levels increased immediately and gradually returned towards normal after severe trauma. Occult adrenal insufficiency was common (60%) in this small group of severely injured patients. This did not, however, affect mortality in these patients. Further study is needed to delineate the role of occult adrenal insufficiency after severe injury.
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Critically ill patients encounter many obstacles, such as acute renal failure, that increases length of stay as well as hospital cost. Dialysis in these patients is often ineffective thereby prolonging the inevitable and significantly increasing the cost of care. A dialysis program that could improve patient care, potentially improve outcome and be "revenue neutral" would be ideal. ⋯ An in-house CRRT program improved patient care by providing dialysis in patients who normally would not tolerate the procedure. Although there was a loss of revenue, CRRT in the burn patients appeared "revenue neutral." Although not specifically studied in this review, based on published data, mortality rates in this population were lower than expected especially in critically ill burn patients.
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Selecting patients for drotrecogin alfa (activated) (Xigris; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN) therapy outside of a clinical trial setting requires knowledge of the rationale that led the Protein C Worldwide Evaluation in Severe Sepsis (PROWESS) investigators to select the various entry criteria for the trial. Enrollment criteria for the study included a known or suspected infection, presence of at least 3 systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria, and dysfunction of > or =1 organ or system. The infection criteria used in PROWESS were designed to be straightforward and were based on common clinical and radiological data. ⋯ Acute organ dysfunction, the diagnostic criterion for severe sepsis, was used to define the study population because it identifies patients at significant risk of death. Characteristics of drotrecogin alfa (activated)-treated patients, including infection, modified SIRS criteria, and organ dysfunction, were similar to those of the placebo group and the general sepsis population. Proper clinical judgment and use of the these inclusion criteria as a guide will help clinicians select and treat sepsis patients with drotrecogin alfa (activated).