The American journal of the medical sciences
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We report a case of fatal hypermagnesemia in a 53-year-old woman admitted for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and with a history of chronic constipation treated regularly with magnesium-containing laxatives. On admission, her magnesium level was 2.0mg/dL, which rose to a peak of 10.8mg/dL despite hydration and diuresis in the presence of a normal kidney function. ⋯ A review of the literature shows that though rare and often unsuspected, severe hypermagnesemia frequently results in death even in individuals with normal renal function despite renal replacement therapy. In patients with constipation, retention of magnesium-based laxative in the gut apparently serves as a reservoir for continuous magnesium absorption and contributes to mortality.
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As a result of the 2011 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) work hour guideline implementation, the structure of intensive care unit (ICU) teams at training institutions has been affected. The impact these changes have had on the current work environment has not been well described. ⋯ Since the 2011 ACGME duty hour implementation, there is wide variability in the learning environment of medical intensive care units in training institutions.
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Sepsis is a great health burden for millions of people worldwide and plays a critical role in the cause of death in intensive care units. Previous studies have revealed that programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) play critical roles in the immunosuppression phase induced by sepsis. The objective of this present study was to establish whether PD-1/PD-L1 expressions were associated with 28-day mortality of septic patients. ⋯ Our results suggested monocyte PD-L1 expression on admission was an independent risk factor for day-28 mortality in septic patients.