Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Comparative Study
Reliability of continuous cardiac output measurement during intra-abdominal hypertension relies on repeated calibrations: an experimental animal study.
Monitoring cardiac output (CO) may allow early detection of haemodynamic instability, aiming to reduce morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Continuous cardiac output (CCO) monitoring is recommended in septic or postoperative patients with high incidences of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH). The aim of the present study was to compare the agreement between three CCO methods and a bolus thermodilution CO technique during acute IAH and volume loading. ⋯ The CO obtained by uncalibrated PulseCO and PCCO failed to agree with COTCP during IAH and fluid loading. In the critically ill patient, recalibration of continuous arterial waveform CO methods should be performed after fluid loading or before a major change in therapy is initiated.
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The high prevalence and pervasive impact of delirium in critically ill patients has been demonstrated in multiple studies. Subsequently there has grown a body of literature regarding delirium assessment in critical illness. The present commentary briefly discusses delirium screening in an intensive care unit environment.
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Editorial Comment
Barbiturates for the treatment of intracranial hypertension after traumatic brain injury.
In their article on the use of barbiturates for the treatment of intracranial hypertension after traumatic brain injury, Perez-Barcena and colleagues conclude that thiopental was more effective than pentobarbital in decreasing intracranial pressure. Here we discuss the limitations of this study and review areas of controversy surrounding barbiturate use in neurocritical care.
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Optimal vasopressor support during resuscitation should theoretically enhance aortic diastolic and coronary perfusion pressure as well as coronary and cerebral blood flow/oxygen delivery without increasing cellular oxygen demand. Intravenous vasopressor support, using 1 mg doses of epinephrine every 5 minutes in adults or vasopressin 40 IU, is recommended by American Heart Association Advanced Cardiac Life Support Guidelines to maximize oxygen delivery to the heart and brain and increase cellular high energy phosphate levels. Vasopressin offers theoretical advantages over epinephrine in that it does not increase myocardial oxygen demand significantly and its receptors are relatively unaffected by acidosis. ⋯ Despite these differences in physiologic actions, two large randomized clinical trials yielded virtually identical overall survival to hospital discharge when these agents were compared during inhospital or out-of-hospital resuscitation in Canada and Europe, respectively. More recent clinical and experimental evidence suggests that a combination of vasopressin and epinephrine used during resuscitation can improve hemodynamics and perhaps survival. The verdict on a combination vasopressor strategy may soon come from a large (>2,000 patients) prospective clinical trial that is underway in France to clarify the role of combination vasopressin/epinephrine therapy in out-of-hospital resuscitation.
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The innate immune response to trauma hemorrhage involves inflammatory mediators, thus promoting cellular dysfunction as well as cell death in diverse tissues. These effects ultimately bear the risk of post-traumatic complications such as organ dysfunction, multiple organ failure, or adult respiratory distress syndrome. In this study, a murine model of resuscitated hemorrhagic shock (HS) was used to determine the apoptosis in spleen as a marker of cellular injury and reduced immune functions. ⋯ Our data suggest that HS induces apoptotic changes in spleen through a biphasic caspase-dependent mechanism and imply a detrimental imbalance of pro- and anti-apoptotic mitochondrial proteins Bax, Bcl-2, and Mcl-1, thereby promoting post-traumatic immunosuppression.