Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Recent models capturing the pathophysiology of sepsis and ex-vivo data from patients are speculating about immunosuppression in the so-called late phase of sepsis. Clinical data regarding survival and microbiological burden are missing. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the 'late phase' of sepsis with respect to overall survival and occurrence of microbiological findings. ⋯ The later phase of sepsis is associated with a significant re-increase of positive blood culture results, especially regarding opportunistic bacteria and fungi. These observations warrant further studies focusing on the underlying mechanisms resulting in this outcome burden in the later phase of sepsis.
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Prevalent in critically ill patients, delirium remains poorly understood and difficult to treat. In a cross-sectional study conducted in 12 countries, delirium was identified in close to one third of patients and was independently associated with increased mortality. While such epidemiological accounts represent an important cornerstone for research, scientific efforts are needed to elucidate the causes of delirium and the mechanisms underlying its association with poor outcomes.
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Comparative Study
Teamwork and team training in the ICU: where do the similarities with aviation end?
The aviation industry has made significant progress in identifying the skills and behaviors that result in effective teamwork. Its conceptualization of teamwork, development of training programs, and design of assessment tools are highly relevant to the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ However, there are substantial differences in the nature of work and structure of teams in the ICU in comparison with those in aviation. While intensive care medicine may wish to use the advances made by the aviation industry for conceptualizing team skills and implementing team training programs, interventions must be tailored to the highly specific demands of the ICU.
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Circulating cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) mainly comes from apoptotic cells and can reflect the extent of cellular damage. Increased plasma levels of cf-DNA have been found in many acute disorders, including septic and clinically ill patients, and usually correlate well with clinical outcome. ⋯ They report that plasma cf-DNA was higher than normal in patients with mechanical ventilation, and even higher in patients who eventually died compared to survivors. However, its usefulness as a death predictor may be limited in the heterogeneous group of mechanically ventilated patients, probably due to confounding effects of co-morbidities, among other factors.
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Arterial blood gases (ABG) are obtained commonly in dyspneic persons presenting to emergency departments. The study by Burri and colleagues found that the information contained in ABG fails to distinguish between pulmonary and other causes of dyspnea. On the other hand, arterial pH was highly predictive of ICU admission and outcome. Until large clinical studies show equivalence between peripheral venous and ABG, we will continue to advocate the use of ABG in the evaluation of acute dyspnea.