Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Observational Study
Acute skeletal muscle wasting and dysfunction predict physical disability at hospital discharge in patients with critical illness.
Patients surviving critical illness develop muscle weakness and impairments in physical function; however, the relationship between early skeletal muscle alterations and physical function at hospital discharge remains unclear. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether changes in muscle size, strength and power assessed in the intensive care unit (ICU) predict physical function at hospital discharge. ⋯ ICU-assessed muscle alterations, specifically RF EI and muscle power, are predictors of diagnosis of ICU-AW and physical function assessed by 5x-STS at hospital discharge in patients surviving critical illness.
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Observational Study
Circulating bioactive adrenomedullin as a marker of sepsis, septic shock and critical illness.
Biomarkers can be of help to understand critical illness and to identify and stratify sepsis. Adrenomedullin is a vasoactive hormone, with reported prognostic and potentially therapeutic value in sepsis. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association of circulating bioactive adrenomedullin (bio-ADM) levels at intensive care unit (ICU) admission with mortality in sepsis patients and in a general ICU population. Secondary aims included the association of bio-ADM with organ failure and the ability of bio-ADM to identify sepsis. ⋯ Admission bio-ADM is associated with 30-day mortality and organ failure in sepsis patients as well as in a general ICU population. Bio-ADM may be a morbidity-independent sepsis biomarker.