Medicina intensiva
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Comment Letter
Acute respiratory distress secondary to blood transfusion.
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To determine the risk factors for severe acute respiratory failure requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (SARF-MV) and its effect upon clinical outcomes in critically ill cancer patients. ⋯ A number of clinical factors are related to SARF-MV. In this regard, SARF-MV is a powerful factor independently correlated to poor outcomes. Future studies should investigate means for preventing SARF-MV in critically ill cancer patients, which may have an impact upon outcomes.
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High altitude sickness (hypobaric hypoxia) is a form of cellular hypoxia similar to that suffered by critically ill patients. The study of mountaineers exposed to extreme hypoxia offers the advantage of involving a relatively homogeneous and healthy population compared to those typically found in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), which are heterogeneous and generally less healthy. ⋯ Comparable changes in mitochondrial biogenesis between both groups may reflect similar adaptive responses and suggest therapeutic interventions based on the protection or stimulation of such mitochondrial biogenesis. Predominance of the homozygous insertion (II) allele of the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene is present in both individuals who perform successful ascensions without oxygen above 8000 m and in critical patients who overcome certain disease conditions.