Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Clinical Trial
Early identification of sepsis in hospital inpatients by ward nurses increases 30-day survival.
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis are now frequently identified by observations of vital signs and detection of organ failure during triage in the emergency room. However, there is less focus on the effect on patient outcome with better observation and treatment at the ward level. ⋯ In a cohort with stable mortality rates, early sepsis recognition by ward nurses may have reduced progression of disease and improved survival for patients in hospital with sepsis.
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Observational Study
Application of a simplified definition of diastolic function in severe sepsis and septic shock.
Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is common in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, but the best approach to categorization is unknown. We assessed the association of common measures of diastolic function with clinical outcomes and tested the utility of a simplified definition of diastolic dysfunction against the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 2009 definition. ⋯ A novel, simplified definition of diastolic dysfunction categorized more patients with sepsis than ASE 2009 definition. Patients categorized according to the simplified definition did not differ from patients categorized according to the ASE 2009 definition in respect to clinical outcome or comorbidities.
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In practice, critical care practitioners individualize treatments and goals of care for each patient in light of that patient's acute and chronic pathophysiology, as well as their beliefs and values. Yet critical care researchers routinely measure one endpoint for all patients during randomized clinical trials (RCTs), eschewing any such individualization. More recent methodology work has explored the possibility that enrollment criteria in RCTs can be individualized, as can data analysis plans. ⋯ If done rigorously and objectively, based on pre-randomization data, such individualization of endpoints may improve the bedside usefulness of information obtained during a RCT, while perhaps also improving the power and efficiency of any RCT. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of this proposal in light of related innovations in RCT design such as sliding dichotomies. We discuss what a full elaboration of such individualization would require, and outline a pragmatic initial step towards the use of "individualized secondary endpoints" in a large RCT evaluating optimal enteral nutrition targets in the critically ill.
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Prognostic factors for the combination of long-term survival and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after intensive care unit (ICU) stay have not yet been studied. Our aim was to assess whether early acute kidney injury (eAKI), AKI occurring on the first day of ICU admission, is an independent predictor of this combined one-year outcome. ⋯ ICU patients with moderate or severe AKI during the first 24 hours have a higher probability of mortality or low HRQoL (combined poor outcome), one year after ICU admission. Together with other available early prognostic factors, information on early acute kidney injury could improve informed decision-making on the continuation or withdrawal of treatment in ICU patients.