Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Observational Study
Noninvasive intracranial pressure estimation by orbital subarachnoid space measurement: the Beijing Intracranial and Intraocular Pressure (iCOP) study.
The orbital subarachnoid space surrounding the optic nerve is continuous with the circulation system for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and can be visualized by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We hypothesized that the orbital subarachnoid space width (OSASW) is correlated with and can serve as a surrogate for intracranial pressure (ICP). Our aim was to develop a method for a noninvasive measurement of the intracranial CSF-pressure (CSF-P) based on MRI-assisted OSASW. ⋯ In patients with normal, moderately decreased or elevated ICP, MRI-assisted measurement of the OSASW appears to be useful for the noninvasive quantitative estimation of ICP, if BMI and MABP as contributing parameters are taken into account.
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Editorial Comment
How do we know when patients sleep properly or why they do not?
The importance of adequate sleep for good health and immune system function is well documented as is reduced sleep quality experienced by ICU patients. In the previous issue of Critical Care, Elliot and co-workers present a well done, largest of its kind, single-center study on sleep patterns in critically ill patients. They base their study on the 'gold standard', the polysomnography technique, which is resource demanding to perform and often difficult to evaluate. ⋯ Sound disturbance was found to be the most significant but improvable factor. The study highlights the challenge and the importance of evaluating sleep in the critical care setting and the present need for alternative methods to measure it. All that in conjunction can be used to solve an important problem for this patient group.
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Admission blood glucose (BG) level is a predictor of mortality in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, limited data are available relating admission BG to mortality in patients with STEMI complicated by cardiogenic shock, and it is not known whether diabetic status has an independent effect on this relationship. ⋯ In a cohort of patients with STEMI complicated by cardiogenic shock, admission BG was an independent predictor of increased risk of mortality only among patients without DM.
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Observational Study
Plasma kallistatin levels in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia.
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) treatment commonly causes acute respiratory failure with high mortality. Kallistatin, an endogenous tissue kallikrein inhibitor, has been reported to be protective in various human diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the correlations of kallistatin with other biomarkers and to determine whether kallistatin levels have a prognostic value in severe CAP. ⋯ These results suggest that kallistatin may serve as a novel marker for severe CAP prognosis and may be involved in the pathogenesis of CAP through antiinflammatory and anticoagulation effects.