Journal of intensive care
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Journal of intensive care · Jan 2014
Neurological outcomes after extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a retrospective observational study in a rural tertiary care center.
In a rural region with few medical resources, we have promoted the strategy that if an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patient is likely reversible, he or she should be transported directly from the scene of cardiac arrest to the only tertiary care center where extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is readily available. We investigated 1-month survival and neurological outcomes after ECPR in OHCA patients at this center. ⋯ ECPR can be a useful means to rescue OHCA patients who are unresponsive to conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a rural tertiary care center, in a manner similar to that observed in the urban regions.
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Journal of intensive care · Jan 2014
Intensive care unit scoring systems outperform emergency department scoring systems for mortality prediction in critically ill patients: a prospective cohort study.
Multiple scoring systems have been developed for both the intensive care unit (ICU) and the emergency department (ED) to risk stratify patients and predict mortality. However, it remains unclear whether the additional data needed to compute ICU scores improves mortality prediction for critically ill patients compared to the simpler ED scores. ⋯ In contrast to prior studies of patients based in the emergency department, ICU scores outperformed ED scores in critically ill patients admitted from the emergency department. This difference in performance seemed to be primarily due to the complexity of the scores rather than the time window from which the data was derived.
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Journal of intensive care · Jan 2014
Comparison of the McGrath MAC video laryngoscope and the Pentax Airwayscope during chest compression: a manikin study.
We tested the utility of the McGrath MAC(®) (McG) video laryngoscope during chest compression compared with the Pentax Airwayscope(®) (AWS). We recruited 59 participants into the simulation study. The difference in the time to intubation (TTI [sec]) between without and with chest compression was significant for the AWS attempts (median 13, range 6-28 vs. median 15, range 6-72, p = 0.0247) but not significant for the McG attempts (median 16, range 6-75 vs. median 16, range 6-71); however, the difference of the TTIs is not serious clinically. The utility of the two devices during chest compressions is almost similar although their characteristics are different.
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Journal of intensive care · Jan 2014
Respiratory support with nasal high-flow therapy helps to prevent recurrence of postoperative atelectasis: a case report.
Postoperative atelectasis should be avoided in surgical patients with impaired pulmonary function. Nasal high-flow (NHF) therapy delivered by the Optiflow™ system (Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand) is a new, simple device that supplies heated and humidified oxygen gas at >30 L/min via a large-bore nasal cannula. We herein describe a case in which respiratory support with NHF therapy was useful for the prevention of postoperative atelectasis recurrence. ⋯ In addition, the NHF therapy delivered optimally humidified gas, which improved the bronchial secretion quality. No further atelectasis occurred throughout the remaining stay in the intensive care unit. We conclude that respiratory support with NHF therapy may contribute to the prevention of postoperative atelectasis by delivering CPAP in combination with progressive respiratory rehabilitation.
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Journal of intensive care · Jan 2013
Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in critically ill patients and its influence on outcome: experience from a tertiary care centre in North India (an observational study).
Limited studies are available on prevalence and severity of vitamin D deficiency in a critically ill population. To the best of our knowledge, this the first study of its kind in an Indian intensive care set-up. ⋯ Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in critically ill patients. A causal association between vitamin D deficiency and mortality was not found in our study. Larger studies are needed to understand the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and ICU outcome.