Current opinion in critical care
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This review will focus on the neglected side of metabolic support in ICU survivors: nutritional therapy after critical illness. Knowledge of the evolution of the metabolism of patients that survived critical illness will be bundled, and current practices will be investigated. We will discuss some studies conducted to determine resting energy expenditure in ICU survivors and which identified barriers that cause interruptions in the feeding process based on published data between January 2022 and April 2023. ⋯ Patients may be in a catabolic state during and after ICU discharge, with several factors impacting metabolism. Therefore, large prospective trials are needed to determine the physiological state of ICU survivors, determine nutritional requirements, and develop nutritional care protocols. Many barriers causing decreased feeding adequacy have already been identified, but solutions are scarce. This review depicts a variable metabolic rate among ICU survivors and a significant variation in feeding adequacy in-between world regions, institutions, and patient sub-phenotypes.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2023
ReviewThe changing face of cardiogenic shock: definitions, epidemiology, and severity assessment.
Cardiogenic shock (CS) has been recognized for >50 years, most commonly in the setting of myocardial infarction. This review covers recent advances in the definitions, epidemiology and severity assessment of cardiogenic shock. ⋯ Cardiogenic shock mortality has not changed in a significant way in many years. Recent advances such as more granular assessment of shock severity have the potential to improve outcomes by allowing research to separate the patient groups which may respond differently to various therapies.
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Numerous micronutrients are involved in antioxidant and immune defence, while their blood concentrations are frequently low in critically ill patients: this has fuelled many supplementation trials. Numerous observational, randomized studies have been published, which are presented herein. ⋯ The needs in critical illness are higher than those of healthy individuals and must be covered to support immunity. Monitoring selected micronutrients is justified in patients requiring more prolonged ICU therapy. Actual results point towards combinations of essential micronutrients at doses below upper tolerable levels. Finally, the time of high-dose micronutrient monotherapy is probably over.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2023
ReviewIs there a role for ketones as alternative fuel in critical illness?
The evidence base advocating ketones as an alternative substrate for critically ill patients is expanding. We discuss the rationale for investigating alternatives to the traditional metabolic substrates (glucose, fatty acids and amino acids), consider evidence relating to ketone-based nutrition in a variety of contexts, and suggest the necessary future steps. ⋯ Whilst ketones provide an attractive nutritional option, further research is required to determine whether the proposed benefits are translatable to critically unwell patients.