Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Our purpose was to study whether the time to target temperature correlates with neurologic outcome in patients after cardiac arrest with restoration of spontaneous circulation treated with therapeutic mild hypothermia in an academic emergency department. ⋯ In comatose cardiac arrest patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia after return of spontaneous circulation, a faster decline in body temperature to the 34°C target appears to predict an unfavorable neurologic outcome.
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Anemia is associated with poor outcomes in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). It remains unclear whether this association can be modified with more aggressive use of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. The degree to which restrictive thresholds have been adopted in neurocritical care patients remains unknown. ⋯ There is widespread variation in the use of RBC transfusions in SAH patients. Practices are heavily influenced by the specific dynamic clinical characteristics of patients and may be further modified by clinician specialty and seniority, the use of protocols and advanced neurological monitoring.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Sedation and renal impairment in critically ill patients: a post hoc analysis of a randomized trial.
Not sedating critically ill patients reduces the time patients receive mechanical ventilation, decreases the time in the intensive care department and reduces the total hospital length of stay. We hypothesized that no sedation improves hemodynamic stability, decreases the need for vasoactive drugs, diminishes the need for extra fluids and lowers the risk of acute kidney injury. ⋯ A no sedation strategy to patients undergoing mechanical ventilation increases the urine output and decreases the number of patients with renal impairments.
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Monitoring of hemodynamic and volumetric parameters after severe burns is of critical importance. Pulmonary artery catheters, however, have been associated with many risks. Our aim was to show the feasibility of continuous monitoring with minimally invasive transpulmonary thermodilution (TPTD) in severely burned pediatric patients. ⋯ Continuous PiCCO measurements were performed for the first time in a large cohort of severely burned pediatric patients. The results suggest that hyperdynamic circulation begins within the first week after burn injury and continues throughout the entire intensive care unit stay.
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Cardiac arrest is often fatal and can be extremely stressful to patients, even if spontaneous rhythm is returned. The purpose of this study was to analyze the hormonal response after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). ⋯ The patients with relative adrenal insufficiency and higher blood levels of ACTH and ADH upon ROSC after cardiac arrest had a poor outcome. The effectiveness of administration of cortisol and ADH to patients upon ROSC after cardiac arrest is uncertain and additional studies are needed.