Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Comprehensively evaluating the efficacy and safety of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is important to allow clinicians who are using or considering this intervention to make appropriate decisions. ⋯ Although HFOV seems not to increase the risk of barotrauma or hypotension, and reduces the risk of oxygenation failure, it does not improve survival in adult acute respiratory distress syndrome patients.
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Serum cystatin C can improve glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation over creatinine alone, but whether this translates into clinically relevant improvements in drug dosing is unclear. ⋯ Vancomycin dosing based on standard care with Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance yielded poor trough achievement. The developed dosing model with estimated GFR from CKD-EPIcreatinine-cystatin C could yield a 2.5-fold increase in target trough achievement compared with current clinical practice. Although this study is promising, prospective validation of this or similar cystatin C-inclusive dosing models is warranted.
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Rhabdomyolysis, a clinical syndrome caused by damage to skeletal muscle and release of its breakdown products into the circulation, can be followed by acute kidney injury (AKI) as a severe complication. The belief that the AKI is triggered by myoglobin as the toxin responsible appears to be oversimplified. Better knowledge of the pathophysiology of rhabdomyolysis and following AKI could widen treatment options, leading to preservation of the kidney: the decision to initiate renal replacement therapy in clinical practice should not be made on the basis of the myoglobin or creatine phosphokinase serum concentrations.
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Management of the critically ill pregnant woman is complicated by potential adverse effects of both maternal illness and ICU interventions on the fetus. This paper reviews the potential risks to the fetus of maternal critical illness, including shock, hypoxemia, and fever, as well as the effects of critical care management, such as drug therapy and radiological investigations. The authors' recommended approach to management is provided. Prior publications and new data presented identify that there is insufficient information to prognosticate accurately on fetal outcome after maternal critical illness, although maternal shock, hypoxemia and early gestational age are likely significant risk factors.