Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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The use of inhaled antibiotics for treating pneumonia in invasively ventilated patients offers a direct approach, allowing for high local concentrations of the drug in the lower respiratory tract while simultaneously reducing systemic toxicity. However, the real efficacy and safety of nebulized antibiotics remain unclear. The aim of the present is to assess among critically adult patients with pneumonia and invasive ventilation, whether receiving adjuvant inhaled antibiotics improves the rate of microbiological eradication. ⋯ In conclusion, compared to the sole intravenous therapy, the use of adjuvant inhaled antibiotics for treatment of pneumonia in invasively ventilated critically ill patients was associated with a greater incidence of microbiological eradication (low GRADE and high risk of publication bias), but not with clinical recovery and survival.
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Multicenter Study
Culture-negative sepsis may be a different entity from culture-positive sepsis: a prospective nationwide multicenter cohort study.
The distinction between culture-positive sepsis and culture-negative sepsis regarding clinical characteristics and outcomes remains contentious. We aimed to elucidate these differences using large-scale nationwide data. ⋯ In patients with septic shock, culture-negativity was associated with increased mortality, despite the paradoxically higher appropriateness of empirical antibiotics than culture-positive patients. These contradictory findings suggest that the current criteria for determining the appropriateness of empirical antibiotic therapy may not be valid for culture-negative sepsis.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Epidemiology of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury in critically ill patients: a multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study in South Korea.
Despite the clinical importance of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI), little is known about its epidemiology. We aimed to investigate the incidence and outcomes of SA-AKI, as well as the risk factors for mortality among patients with severe SA-AKI in critically ill patients. ⋯ Of the patients admitted to the intensive care unit for sepsis, 62.3% developed SA-AKI. Severe SA-AKI was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Adherence to the fluid resuscitation component of the one-hour sepsis bundle can potentially improve outcomes in these patients.