Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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In critically ill patients, changes in the velocity-time integral (VTI) of the left ventricular outflow tract, measured by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), are often used to non-invasively assess the response to fluid administration or for performing tests assessing fluid responsiveness. However, the precision of TTE measurements has not yet been investigated in such patients. First, we aimed at assessing how many measurements should be averaged within one TTE examination to reach a sufficient precision for various variables. Second, we aimed at identifying the least significant change (LSC) of these variables between successive TTE examinations. ⋯ Averaging three measurements within one TTE examination is enough for obtaining precise measurements for VTI in patients in sinus rhythm but not in patients with atrial fibrillation. Between two TTE examinations performed by the same operator, the LSC of VTI is compatible with the assessment of the effects of a 500-mL fluid infusion but is not precise enough for assessing the effects of some tests predicting preload responsiveness.
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Endothelial hyperpermeability following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) contributes to microcirculatory perfusion disturbances and postoperative complications after cardiac surgery. We investigated the postoperative course of renal and pulmonary endothelial barrier function and the association with microcirculatory perfusion and angiopoietin-2 levels in patients after CPB. ⋯ CPB is associated with an impairment of in vitro endothelial barrier function that continues in the first postoperative days and correlates with reduced postoperative microcirculatory perfusion and increased circulating angiopoietin-2 levels. These results suggest that angiopoietin-2 is a biomarker for postoperative endothelial hyperpermeability, which may contribute to delayed recovery of microcirculatory perfusion after CPB.
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Excess fluid balance in acute kidney injury (AKI) may be harmful, and conversely, some patients may respond to fluid challenges. This study aimed to develop a prediction model that can be used to differentiate between volume-responsive (VR) and volume-unresponsive (VU) AKI. ⋯ The XGBoost model was able to differentiate between patients who would and would not respond to fluid intake in urine output better than a traditional logistic regression model. This result suggests that machine learning techniques have the potential to improve the development and validation of predictive modeling in critical care research.
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Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are innate defense mechanisms that are also implicated in the pathogenesis of organ dysfunction. However, the role of NETs in pediatric sepsis is unknown. ⋯ This study reveals a hitherto unrecognized mechanism of pediatric sepsis susceptibility and suggests that NETs represents a potential target to improve clinical outcomes of sepsis.
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Microaspiration of gastric and oropharyngeal secretions is the main mechanism of entry of bacteria into the lower respiratory tract in intubated critically ill patients. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of enteral nutrition, as compared with parenteral nutrition, on abundant microaspiration of gastric contents and oropharyngeal secretions. ⋯ Our results suggest that enteral and parenteral nutrition are associated with high rates of microaspiration, although oropharyngeal microaspiration was more common with enteral nutrition and gastric microaspiration was more common with parenteral nutrition.