Current opinion in critical care
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Critical illness includes a wide range of conditions from sepsis to high-risk surgery. All these diseases are characterized by reduced tissue oxygenation. Macrohemodynamic parameters may be corrected by fluids and/or vasoactive compounds; however, the microcirculation and its tissues may be damaged and remain hypoperfused. An evaluation of microcirculation may enable more physiologically based approaches for understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of critically ill patients. ⋯ Critical illness is usually accompanied by abnormalities in microcirculation and tissue hypoxia. Direct monitoring of sublingual microcirculation using hand-held microscopy may provide a more physiological approach. Evaluating the coherence between macrocirculation and microcirculation in response to therapy seems to be essential in evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic interventions.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Oct 2016
ReviewCommunity-acquired pneumonia: still a major burden of disease.
Describe recent studies that may impact on the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). ⋯ Although questions remain, particularly with regard to prediction of outcome, recent studies of CAP, both clinical and experimental, have contributed novel insights into disease pathogenesis that may enable improvement of current treatment strategies.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Oct 2016
ReviewRole of albumin, starches and gelatins versus crystalloids in volume resuscitation of critically ill patients.
The review focuses on fluid resuscitation of critically ill patients with either colloid or crystalloid solutions. ⋯ Fluid administration should be tailored to patient characteristics. Synthetic colloids should be avoided when possible, especially in patients at risk for kidney injury. In critically ill patients with suspected increased permeability, colloids may not be superior to crystalloids in expanding plasma volume. Albumin appears to be less harmful than synthetic colloids, although its beneficial effects need to be further investigated. The endothelial glycocalyx layer is the key structure finely regulating intravascular fluid distribution.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Oct 2016
ReviewCritical care for dengue in adult patients: an overview of current knowledge and future challenges.
This review aims to update and summarize the current knowledge about clinical features, management, and risk factors of adult dengue patients requiring intensive care with consequently higher risk of mortality. ⋯ These findings highlight the common clinical manifestations of adult dengue patients and the challenges of clinical management in ICU. Risk factors for prediction of adult dengue patients who require ICU are available, but they lack validation and consistent study design for meta-analysis in future. Early recognition of these risk factors, with close monitoring and prompt clinical management, remains critical to reduce mortality.
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Inflammatory mediators can interfere with cardiovascular system. This article describes some recent findings in this field. ⋯ Not only in septic shock, but also in classic heart diseases like cardiogenic shock and endocarditis, the detrimental role of inflammatory mediators becomes more and more evident, whereas effective anti-inflammatory treatment concepts are still missing.