Annals of intensive care
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Annals of intensive care · Dec 2015
Admission vitamin D status is associated with discharge destination in critically ill surgical patients.
Discharge destination after critical illness is increasingly recognized as a valuable patient-centered outcome. Recently, vitamin D status has been shown to be associated with important outcomes such as length of stay (LOS) and mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Our goal was to investigate whether vitamin D status on ICU admission is associated with discharge destination. ⋯ Our results suggest that vitamin D status may be a modifiable risk factor for non-home discharge destination in surgical ICU patients. Future randomized, controlled trials are needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation in surgical ICU patients can improve clinical outcomes such as the successful rate of discharge to home after critical illness.
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Annals of intensive care · Dec 2015
Quality of transition to end-of-life care for cancer patients in the intensive care unit.
There have been few studies that have evaluated the quality of end-of-life care (EOLC) for cancer patients in the ICU. The aim of this study was to explore the quality of transition to EOLC for cancer patients in ICU. ⋯ Advanced EOLC planning in patients with progressive disease prior to acute deterioration is warranted to enable patients' wishes to be fulfilled and ceiling of treatments agreed. Better documentation and development of validated tools to measure the quality EOLC transition on the ICU are needed.
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Annals of intensive care · Dec 2015
Long-term survival and quality of life after intensive care for patients 80 years of age or older.
Comparison of survival and quality of life in a mixed ICU population of patients 80 years of age or older with a matched segment of the general population. ⋯ Overall 1-year survival was 42.0 %. Survival rates beyond that were comparable to those of the general octogenarian population. Among survivors at follow-up, HRQOL was comparable to that of the age- and sex-matched general population. Patients admitted for planned surgery had better short- and long-term survival rates than those admitted for medical reasons or unplanned surgery for 3 years after ICU admittance. The majority of the ICU non-survivors died within 2 days, and most of these had LST limitation decisions.
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Most studies about septic shock report a crude mortality rate that neither distinguishes between early and late deaths nor addresses the direct causes of death. We herein aimed to determine the modalities of death in septic shock. ⋯ Our study provides a comprehensive assessment of septic shock-related deaths. Identification of risk factors of early and late deaths may determine differential prognostic patterns.
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Annals of intensive care · Dec 2015
Prolonged prone positioning under VV-ECMO is safe and improves oxygenation and respiratory compliance.
Data are sparse regarding the effects of prolonged prone positioning (PP) during VV-ECMO. Previous studies, using short sessions (<12 h), failed to find any effects on respiratory system compliance. In the present analysis, the effects of prolonged PP sessions (24 h) were retrospectively studied with regard to safety data, oxygenation and respiratory system compliance. ⋯ When used in combination with VV-ECMO, 24 h of prone positioning improves both oxygenation and respiratory system compliance. Moreover, our study confirms the absence of serious adverse events.