Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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The purpose of the study was to validate the newly derived postoperative orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTX)-specific diagnostic weight for the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II mortality prediction system in independent databases. ⋯ APACHE II provided an accurate estimate of mortality in liver transplant patients when the OLTX-specific diagnostic weight was used. With the new model, APACHE II can be used as a valid mortality prediction system in this group of patients.
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To demonstrate the effects of combined inhaled nitric oxide and surfactant replacement as treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome. This treatment has not previously been documented for reperfusion injury after double lung transplantation. ⋯ There is a potential role for a combined therapy with inhaled nitric oxide and surfactant replacement in reperfusion injury after lung transplantation.
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Although numerous studies over the past 40 years have addressed this problem, initial graft failure is still a key question in clinical lung transplantation. As a possible tool to avoid and treat initial graft failure after lung transplantation, laboratory evidence and clinical reports currently emphasize the role of substitution therapy of surfactant combined with inhaled nitric oxide.
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The clinical syndrome of sepsis is common, increasing in incidence and responsible for as many deaths annually as ischaemic heart disease. Two recent interventional trials have demonstrated that early recognition and intervention can result in dramatic reductions in acute (28-day) mortality. ⋯ Overcoming this should facilitate wider recognition, not only among health care providers (in particular those working in acute specialties outside intensive care units [ICUs]) but also politicians and the general public. Such education is vital if early recognition and intervention are to be successfully implemented.