Articles: intensive-care-units.
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Internal medicine journal · Apr 2023
Influence of radiologic pattern and the presence of diffuse parenchymal lung disease on outcome in ventilated patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: impact on prognosis.
Suspected organising pneumonia (OP) is a common finding in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the impact on outcomes of the radiological patterns of diffuse parenchymal lung disease on outcome of these patients is still uncertain. ⋯ OP radiologic pattern in patients with severe COVID-19 is not associated with worse outcomes.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Apr 2023
Comparative StudyCOMPARISON OF TRACHEAL ASPIRATES IN THE PERIOD BEFORE AND AFTER THE START OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL.
Changes in working methods and diagnostics using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) diagnostics that occurred after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic could show differences in the prevalence of positive microbiological samples. In a retrospective study, a total of 442 tracheal aspirates in the pre-pandemic period (Period A, 2018, 198 patients, age median 69 (57-78)) and 277 samples in the pandemic period (Period B, 2021, 147 patients, age 68 (56-77) (p=0.585) obtained after the start of the pandemic were analyzed. A total of 176 patients had at least 1 positive result. ⋯ The most frequently isolated pathogens were Acinetobacter baumannii in 86 patients from Period A and 32 patients from Period B, i.e., 43% vs. 21.7% of all positive isolates (p=0.247), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 29 patients in Period A (14.6%) vs. 7 (3%) (p=0.112) in Period B. A statistically significant increase was observed in the incidence of Enterobacterales (16.6% vs. 32.6%, p=0.002), especially Klebsiellae spp. Although overall mortality decreased in Period B, changes in the working methods and diagnostics did not result in changes in the mortality of patients whose tracheal aspirates were sampled.
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Disorders of consciousness due to severe hypoglycemia are rare but challenging to treat. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to describe our multimodal neurological assessment of patients with hypoglycemic encephalopathy hospitalized in the intensive care unit and their neurological outcomes. ⋯ The overall prognosis of patients with severe hypoglycemic encephalopathy was poor, with only a small fraction of patients who slowly improved after intensive care unit discharge. Of note, patients who did not improve during the first 6 months did not recover consciousness. This study suggests that a multimodal approach capitalizing on advanced brain imaging and bedside electrophysiology techniques could improve diagnostic and prognostic performance in severe hypoglycemic encephalopathy.
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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality during critical illness especially in very old patients admitted to intensive care units. ⋯ Mortality was increased in very old ICU patients with AKI. Among survivors, two-thirds returned home.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Apr 2023
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MORTALITY IN SEVERELY BURNED PATIENTS - CROATIAN NATIONAL BURN CENTER REPORT.
The authors conducted a single-center retrospective study during the last 6.5 years. The study aimed to describe demographic data of burn patients in the Croatian Burn Center and investigate factors affecting mortality for the first time after the Center was established. The study included 109 severely burned patients with a total body surface area (TBSA) burned ≥20%, admitted to the burn intensive care unit. ⋯ With an increase of TBSA by 1%, the odds of lethal outcome are expected to increase by 7% (p<0.0001). Other variables included in the analysis did not show statistical significance. TBSA percentage is a well-known predictor of mortality and numerous studies indicate an association between comorbidities and mortality but there are conflicting results about other demographic factors and injury characteristics.