Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Abelha and colleagues evaluated the incidence and determinants of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) after major noncardiac surgery in patients with previously normal renal function. In this retrospective study of 1,166 patients with no previous renal insufficiency, who were admitted to a postsurgical intensive care unit (ICU) over a 2-year period, the incidence of AKI was 7.5%. Multivariate analysis identified American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, Revised Cardiac Risk Index, high-risk surgery and congestive heart disease as preoperative AKI risk factors. ⋯ Although the study design excluded 121 patients with significant preoperative renal insufficiency by design, the relatively crude serum creatinine cut-offs used certainly permitted inclusion of numerous patients with preoperative renal impairment. Accordingly, the study design failed to quantify the impact of preoperative renal impairment on risk and outcomes of perioperative AKI in noncardiac surgery, and this should be a goal of such studies in the future. Nonetheless, the study is an important addition to the literature in an under-studied population of patients at high risk for AKI.
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Optimal nutrition for intensive care patients has been proposed to be the provision of energy as determined by indirect calorimetry, and protein provision of at least 1.2 g/kg pre-admission weight per day. The evidence supporting these nutritional goals is based on surrogate outcomes and is not yet substantiated by patient oriented, clinically meaningful endpoints. In the present study we evaluated the effects of achieving optimal nutrition in ICU patients during their period of mechanical ventilation on mortality. ⋯ Optimal nutritional therapy improves ICU, 28-day and hospital survival in female ICU patients. Female patients reaching both energy and protein goals have better outcomes than those reaching only the energy goal. In the present study men did not benefit from optimal nutrition.
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In critically ill patients, delirium is a serious and frequent disorder that is associated with a prolonged intensive care and hospital stay and an increased morbidity and mortality. Without the use of a delirium screening instrument, delirium is often missed by ICU nurses and physicians. The effects of implementation of a screening method on haloperidol use is not known. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the confusion assessment method-ICU (CAM-ICU) and the effect of its use on frequency and duration of haloperidol use. ⋯ With a tailored implementation strategy, a delirium assessment tool was successfully introduced in the ICU with the main goals achieved within four months. Early detection of delirium in critically ill patients increases the number of patients that receive treatment with haloperidol, however with a lower dose and for a shorter time period.
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Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is a cardio-pulmonary bypass technique to provide life support in acute reversible cardio-respiratory failure when conventional management is not successful. Most neonates receiving ECMO suffer from meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), sepsis or persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPH). In five-year-old children who underwent VA-ECMO therapy as neonates, we assessed motor performance related to growth, intelligence and behaviour, and the association with the primary diagnosis. ⋯ The ECMO population is highly at risk for developmental problems, most prominently in the motor domain. Adverse outcome differs between the primary diagnosis groups. Objective evaluation of long-term developmental problems associated with this highly invasive technology is necessary to determine best evidence-based practice. The ideal follow-up programme requires an interdisciplinary team, the use of normal-referenced tests and an international consensus on timing and actual outcome measurements.
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Limited data are available regarding the diagnostic and prognostic utility of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. ⋯ The findings suggest that the level of BNP at the time of admission may be a useful marker for detecting ADHF and predicting cardiac events in patients with CKD in the ICU setting.