Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) increases mortality and morbidity of critically ill patients. Mortality of patients treated with renal replacement therapy (RRT) is high. We aimed to evaluate the nationwide incidence of RRT-treated AKI in Finland, hospital and six-month mortality, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of these patients. ⋯ The population-based incidence of AKI treated with RRT was 19.2 per 100,000 in Finland and 6.8% of all general ICU patients. The hospital and six-month mortality rates were lower than previously reported for ICU-treated RRT patients.
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Although nonthyroidal illness syndrome is considered to be associated with adverse outcome in ICU patients, the performance of thyroid hormone levels in predicting clinical outcome in ICU patients is unimpressive. This study was conducted to assess the prognostic value of the complete thyroid indicators (free triiodothyronine (FT3), total triiodothyronine; free thyroxine, total thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone and reverse triiodothyronine) in unselected ICU patients. ⋯ In unselected ICU patients, FT3 was the most powerful and only independent predictor of ICU mortality among the complete indicators. The addition of FT3 level to the APACHE II score could significantly improve the ability to predict ICU mortality.
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You are responsible for a large medical surgical ICU. Your hospital administration has been very focused on reducing rates of hospital-acquired infections particularly in the wake of increasing public attention. ⋯ Your hospital administration wants your direction on next year's expenditures. You are debating whether the expense is worthwhile and advise your hospital administration accordingly.
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Inflammation may critically affect mechanisms of liver injury in acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity. Kupffer cells (KC) play important roles in inflammation, and KC depletion confers protection at early time points after APAP treatment but can lead to more severe injury at a later time point. It is possible that some inflammatory factors might contribute to liver damage at an early injurious phase but facilitate liver regeneration at a late time point. Therefore, we tested this hypothesis by using ethyl pyruvate (EP), an anti-inflammatory agent, to treat APAP overdose for 24-48 hours. ⋯ Inflammation likely contributes to liver damage at an early injurious phase but improves hepatocyte regeneration at a late time point, and prolonged anti-inflammation therapy at a late phase is not beneficial.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous tracheostomy (PCT) and the incidence of complications in critically ill, obese patients. ⋯ This study demonstrated that US-guided PCT is feasible in obese patients with a low complication rate. Obesity may not constitute a contra-indication for US-guided PCT. A US examination provides information on cervical anatomy and hence modifies and guides choice of the PCT puncture site.