Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Quality of life and pruritus in patients with severe sepsis resuscitated with hydroxyethyl starch long-term follow-up of a randomised trial.
The effects of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) on patient-centered outcome measures have not been fully described in patients with severe sepsis. We assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the occurrence of pruritus in patients with severe sepsis randomized to resuscitation with HES 130/0.42 or Ringer's acetate. ⋯ At long-term follow-up patients with severe sepsis assigned to resuscitation with HES 130/0.42 had worse self-perceived HRQoL than those assigned to Ringer's acetate whereas there were no statistically significant differences in the occurrence of pruritus.
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Editorial Comment
A protocol guided by transpulmonary thermodilution and lactate levels for resuscitation of patients with severe burns.
Over-resuscitation is deleterious in many critically ill conditions, including major burns. For more than 15 years, several strategies to reduce fluid administration in burns during the initial resuscitation phase have been proposed, but no single or simple parameter has shown superiority. ⋯ The authors' results confirm that resuscitation can be achieved with below-normal levels of preload but at the price of a fluid administration greater than predicted by the Parkland formula (2 to 4 mL/kg per% burn). The classic approach based on an adapted Parkland equation may still be the simplest until further studies identify the optimal bundle of resuscitation goals.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Observational Study
A comparative study of varying doses of enoxaparin for thromboprophylaxis in critically ill patients: a double-blinded, randomised controlled trial.
Critically ill patients are predisposed to venous thromboembolism. We hypothesized that higher doses of enoxaparin would improve thromboprophylaxis without increasing the risk of bleeding. Peak anti-factor Xa (anti-Xa) levels of 0.1 to 0.4 IU/ml reflect adequate thromboprophylaxis for general ward patients. Studies conducted in orthopaedic patients demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between anti-Xa levels and wound haematoma and thrombosis. Corresponding levels for critically ill patients may well be higher, but have never been validated in large studies. ⋯ Doses of 40 mg QD enoxaparin (Europe) or 30 mg BID (North America) yield levels of anti-Xa which may be inadequate for critically ill patients. A weight-based dose yielded the best anti-Xa levels without bioaccumulation, and allowed the establishment of near steady-state levels from the first day of enoxaparin administration.
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Acute respiratory failure is a dominant feature of critical illness. In this review, we discuss 17 studies published last year in Critical Care. The discussion focuses on articles on several topics: respiratory monitoring, acute respiratory distress syndrome, noninvasive ventilation, airway management, secretion management and weaning.
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Several methods have been proposed to evaluate neurological outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients. Blood lactate has been recognized as a reliable prognostic marker for trauma, sepsis, or cardiac arrest. The objective of this study was to examine the association between initial lactate level or lactate clearance and neurologic outcome in OHCA survivors who were treated with therapeutic hypothermia. ⋯ The lactate clearance rate, and not the initial lactate level, was associated with neurological outcome in OHCA patients after therapeutic hypothermia.