Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Observational Study
Body temperature patterns as a predictor of hospital-acquired sepsis in afebrile adult intensive care unit patients: a case-control study.
Early treatment of sepsis improves survival, but early diagnosis of hospital-acquired sepsis, especially in critically ill patients, is challenging. Evidence suggests that subtle changes in body temperature patterns may be an early indicator of sepsis, but data is limited. The aim of this study was to examine whether abnormal body temperature patterns, as identified by visual examination, could predict the subsequent diagnosis of sepsis in afebrile critically ill patients. ⋯ Abnormal body temperature curves were predictive of the diagnosis of sepsis in afebrile critically ill patients. Analysis of temperature patterns, rather than absolute values, may facilitate decreased time to antimicrobial therapy.
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Observational Study
Augmented renal clearance in septic and traumatized patients with normal plasma creatinine concentrations: identifying at-risk patients.
Improved methods to optimize drug dosing in the critically ill are urgently needed. Traditional prescribing culture involves recognition of factors that mandate dose reduction (such as renal impairment), although optimizing drug exposure, through more frequent or augmented dosing, represents an evolving strategy. Elevated creatinine clearance (CLCR) has been associated with sub-therapeutic antibacterial concentrations in the critically ill, a concept termed augmented renal clearance (ARC). We aimed to determine the prevalence of ARC in a cohort of septic and traumatized critically ill patients, while also examining demographic, physiological and illness severity characteristics that may help identify this phenomenon. ⋯ Diagnosis, illness severity and age, are likely to significantly influence renal drug elimination in the critically ill, and must be regularly considered in future study design and daily prescribing practice.
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Editorial Comment
Eubaric hyperoxia: controversies in the management of acute traumatic brain injury.
Controversy exists on the role of hyperoxia in major trauma with brain injury. Hyperoxia on arterial blood gas has been associated with acute lung injury and pulmonary complications, impacting clinical outcome. The hyperoxia could be reflective of the physiological interventions following major systemic trauma. ⋯ The risk of low brain oxygen is most acute in the first 24 to 48 hours after injury. The administration of a high fraction of inspired oxygen (0.6 to 1.0) in the emergency room may be justifiable until ICU admission for the placement of invasive neurocritical care monitoring systems. Thereafter, fraction of inspired oxygen levels need to be careful titrated to prevent low brain oxygen levels.
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Editorial Comment
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound: a new vision of microcirculation in the intensive care unit.
To gain new insights into renal perfusion and pathogenesis of acute kidney injury in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, we need new techniques to evaluate renal microcirculation. In addition, a bedside technique applicable in the ICU could be extremely useful for physicians to adjust the optimal therapeutic/preventive modalities for kidney perfusion in each patient. ⋯ In addition, CEUS derived-parameters suggest a decrease in renal perfusion occurring within 24 hours of surgery in patients at risk of acute kidney injury. This study opens up new possibilities for the assessment of cortical renal microcirculation in ICU patients.