Crit Care Resusc
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Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurs commonly in intensive care units. The reported mortality rates in studies evaluating ARDS are highly variable. Objective: To investigate mortality rates due to ARDS from before the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic began until the start of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. ⋯ There is a clear distinction between mortality in observational studies and in randomised controlled trials. Future studies need to report mortality for different ARDS phenotypes and closely adhere to evidence-based medicine. PROSPERO registration: CRD42020149712 (April 2020).
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Objective: To define the prevalence of dysphagia after endotracheal intubation in critically ill adult patients. Design: A retrospective observational data linkage cohort study using the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database and a mandatory government statewide health care administration database. Setting: Private and public intensive care units (ICUs) within Victoria, Australia. ⋯ Patients with dysphagia required longer ICU (median, 154 [interquartile range (IQR), 78-259] v 53 [IQR, 27-107] hours; P < 0.001) and hospital admissions (median, 20 [IQR, 13-30] v 8 [IQR, 5-15] days; P < 0.001), were more likely to develop aspiration pneumonia (17.2% v 5.6%; odds ratio, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.8-3.2; P < 0.001), and the median health care expenditure increased by 93% per episode of care ($73 586 v $38 108; P < 0.001) compared with patients without dysphagia. Conclusions: Post-extubation dysphagia is associated with adverse patient and health care outcomes. Consideration should be given to strategies that support early identification of patients with dysphagia in the ICU to determine if these adverse outcomes can be reduced.
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Objectives: We aimed to investigate the use of sedation in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), focusing on the choice of sedative agent, dose, duration, and their association with clinical outcomes. Design: Multinational, multicentre, retrospective observational study. Settings: 14 trauma centres in Europe, Australia and the United Kingdom. ⋯ Sixty-day mortality and hospital mortality were predicted by a higher IMPACT score (P < 0.001) and a higher ISS (P < 0.001), but, after adjustment, were not related to the choice of sedative agent. Conclusions: Propofol was used more often than midazolam, and large doses were common for both sedatives. The first choice was highly variable, was affected by injury severity, and was not independently associated with 60-day mortality.
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Background: Fluid bolus therapy with 20% albumin may shorten the duration of vasopressor therapy in patients after cardiac surgery. Objective: To describe the study protocol and statistical analysis plan for the 20% Human Albumin Solution Fluid Bolus Administration Therapy in Patients after Cardiac Surgery-II (HAS FLAIR-II) trial. Design, setting, participants and intervention: HAS FLAIR-II is a phase 2b, multicentre, parallel group, openlabel, randomised controlled trial that will be conducted at six Australian intensive care units. ⋯ All analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. Results and conclusion: The study protocol and statistical analysis plan will guide the conduct and analysis of the HAS FLAIR-II trial, such that analytical and reporting biases are minimised. Trial registration: This trial has been registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN No. 12620000137998).
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Introduction: Risk scoring systems exist to predict perioperative blood transfusion risk in cardiac surgery, but none have been validated in the Australian or New Zealand population. The ACTA-PORT score was developed in the United Kingdom for this purpose. In this study, we validate and recalibrate the ACTA-PORT score in a large national database. ⋯ Conclusions: The AntiPORT is the first red cell transfusion risk scoring system for cardiac surgery patients to be validated using Australian data. It is accurate and simple to calculate. The demonstrated accuracy of AntiPORT may help facilitate benchmarking and future research in patient blood management, as well as providing a useful tool to help clinicians target these resource-saving strategies.