Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Monophasic versus biphasic defibrillation for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients: a nationwide population-based study in Japan.
Conventional monophasic defibrillators for out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest patients have been replaced with biphasic defibrillators. However, the advantage of biphasic over monophasic defibrillation for pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest patients remains unknown. This study aimed to compare the survival outcomes of pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest patients who underwent monophasic defibrillation with those who underwent biphasic defibrillation. ⋯ The present nationwide population-based observational study could not confirm an advantage of biphasic over monophasic defibrillators for pediatric OHCA patients.
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Sepsis is a syndromic illness that has traditionally been defined by a set of broad, highly sensitive clinical parameters. As a result, numerous distinct pathophysiologic states may meet diagnostic criteria for sepsis, leading to syndrome heterogeneity. The existence of biologically distinct sepsis subtypes may in part explain the lack of actionable evidence from clinical trials of sepsis therapies. We used microarray-based gene expression data from adult patients with sepsis in order to identify molecularly distinct sepsis subtypes. ⋯ Sepsis subtypes can be identified based on different gene expression patterns. These patterns may generate hypotheses about the underlying pathophysiology of sepsis and suggest new ways of classifying septic patients both in clinical practice, and in the design of clinical trials.
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Editorial Comment
Anemia, red blood cell transfusion, and outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury.
In the previous issue of Critical Care, Sekhon and colleagues report that mean 7-day hemoglobin concentration <90 g/l was associated with increased mortality among patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The adverse relationship between reduced hemoglobin concentrations and outcomes among those with TBI has been an inconsistent finding across available studies. However, as anemia is common among adults with severe TBI, and clinical equipoise may exist between specialists as to when to transfuse allogeneic red blood cells, randomized controlled trials of liberal versus restricted transfusion thresholds are indicated.
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The study by Wassenberg and colleagues shows that rapid diagnostic testing, although not cost-saving, reduces the number of unnecessary isolation days at ICU admission. Here, the strengths and limitations and the usefulness of rapid diagnostic testing are discussed from the collective and individual perspectives.
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Fluid overload is a clinical problem frequently related to cardiac and renal dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate fluid overload and changes in serum creatinine as predictors of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity after cardiac surgery. ⋯ Although both fluid overload and changes in serum creatinine are prognostic markers after cardiac surgery, it seems that progressive fluid overload may be an earlier and more sensitive marker of renal dysfunction affecting heart function and, as such, it would allow earlier intervention and more effective control in post cardiac surgery patients.