Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Several studies have shown promising results regarding the use of statins as an adjunctive treatment for sepsis. Most of those studies were retrospective or observational in nature. The ASEPSIS trial has reported that the administration of atorvastatin reduced clinical progression of sepsis but did not improve mortality. These findings are promising and further multicenter trials are needed to confirm these outcomes and to establish whether this class of medications will offer utility in this regard.
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Optic nerve sheath diameter enlargement measured by ultrasound is known to be associated with raised intracranial pressure (ICP). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the optic nerve has been found, in an elegant study published in Critical Care, to correlate well with lumbar CSF opening pressure, confirming previously published studies. A simple and rapid T2-weighted fat-suppressed sequence was used to noninvasively measure the CSF width surrounding the optic nerve, allowing one to predict lumbar CSF pressure with relatively good performances, taking into consideration the body mass index and the mean arterial blood pressure. Based on these results and when brain MRI is indicated in situations at risk for increased ICP, the optic CSF thickness measurement could be systematically performed and used as a surrogate marker of raised ICP.
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Observational Study
Storage of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and accuracy of microbiological diagnostics in the ICU: a prospective observational study.
Early initiation of appropriate antimicrobial treatment is a cornerstone in managing pneumonia. Because microbiologic processing may not be available around the clock, optimal storage of specimens is essential for accurate microbiologic identification of pathogenetic bacteria. The aim of our study was to determine the accuracy of two commonly used storage approaches for delayed processing of bronchoalveolar lavage in critically ill patients with suspected pneumonia. ⋯ Bronchoalveolar lavage samples can be processed for culture when stored up to 24 hours at 4°C without loss of diagnostic accuracy. Delayed culturing after storage at -80°C may not be reliable, in particular with regard to Gram-negative bacteria.
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Whether the egg or the chicken came first remains debated, although the debate is not critical for those who love eating omelets. At least, it is well accepted that one needs to break eggs to fry an omelet. ⋯ A lot of debate arises from whether acute kidney injury is a complication of various insults and therapies or an expected continuum of the organ failure process. Indeed, it is well accepted that acute renal failure is associated with increased mortality in severely ill children and infants.
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Editorial Comment
Over-distension of the airways by mechanical ventilation in the elderly: adding insult to injury.
Setzer and colleagues demonstrate that older animals are more susceptible to ventilator-induced lung injury than young animals and develop a more pronounced local and systemic cytokine response to high tidal volumes. These data have significant implications for older patients receiving mechanical ventilation if these findings can be translated to human critical care medicine.