Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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There is growing interest in patient outcomes following critical illness, with an increasing number and different types of studies conducted, and a need for synthesis of existing findings to help inform the field. For this purpose we conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies evaluating patient outcomes after hospital discharge for survivors of critical illness. ⋯ ICU survivors may experience positive emotions and life satisfaction; however, a wide range of mental, physical, social, and functional sequelae occur after hospital discharge. These findings are important for understanding patient-centered outcomes in critical care and providing focus for future interventional studies aimed at improving outcomes of importance to ICU survivors.
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Observational Study
Viral-bacterial coinfection affects the presentation and alters the prognosis of severe community-acquired pneumonia.
Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) enables recovery of viruses from airways of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), although their clinical impact remains uncertain. ⋯ Viral-bacterial coinfection during severe CAP in adults is associated with an impaired presentation and a complicated course.
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Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is an effective technique for providing emergency mechanical circulatory support for patients with cardiogenic shock. VA-ECMO enables a rapid restoration of global systemic organ perfusion, but it has not been found to always show a parallel improvement in the microcirculation. We hypothesized in this study that the response of the microcirculation to the initiation of VA-ECMO might identify patients with increased chances of intensive care unit (ICU) survival. ⋯ PVD of the sublingual microcirculation at initiation of VA-ECMO can be used to predict ICU mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock.