Articles: critical-illness.
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Observational Study
Hallucinations and disturbed behaviour in the critically ill: incidence, patient characteristics, associations, trajectory, and outcomes.
To use natural language processing (NLP) to study the incidence, characteristics, trajectory, associations, and outcomes of hallucinations and disturbed behaviour in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ⋯ Hallucinations affect one in 12 ICU patients and are strongly associated with disturbed behaviour, and the use of antipsychotic medications. Hallucinations may represent another phenotype of critical illness associated neurocognitive dysfunction and require a dedicated research program.
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Journal of critical care · Jan 2025
Macronutrient intake is different across Europe: Results of a Belgian cohort of critically ill adults.
Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is fundamental for ICU patients. This post-hoc subgroup analysis of the prospective observational EuroPN survey aimed to assess MNT in the participating Belgian ICUs. ⋯ Similar to overall, the Belgian subgroup received a daily average moderate caloric and low protein intake. The gradual intake increase aligned with ESPEN guidelines, though temporary overfeeding occurred in about one third of the patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Early phosphate changes as potential indicator of unreadiness for artificial feeding: a secondary analysis of the EPaNIC RCT.
As compared to withholding parenteral nutrition (PN) until one week after intensive care unit (ICU) admission, Early PN prolonged ICU dependency in the EPaNIC randomized controlled trial (RCT). The Refeeding RCT showed improved outcome by temporary macronutrient restriction in ICU patients developing refeeding hypophosphatemia, defined as a phosphate decrease of > 0.16 mmol/L to levels < 0.65 mmol/L. We hypothesized that early phosphate changes may identify critically ill patients who are harmed by Early PN, and that dynamic phosphate changes are more discriminative than an absolute threshold for hypophosphatemia. ⋯ Development of RHP may identify patients who are particularly harmed by early PN. Future studies should prospectively validate the potential of including RHP in a ready-to-feed indicator.
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This narrative review discusses the mechanisms connecting gut dysbiosis to adverse clinical outcomes in critically ill patients and explores potential therapeutic strategies. ⋯ The microbiota plays an important role in shaping outcomes for critically ill patients. According to evidence, alterations in the gut and lung microbiota are associated with disease severity, mortality, and overall patient recovery. Evolving research opens possibilities for personalized medicine by tailoring treatments based on individual microbiota profiles, though clinical applications are still developing.
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Oxygen therapy is ubiquitous in critical illness but oxygenation targets to guide therapy remain controversial despite several large randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Findings from RCTs evaluating different approaches to oxygen therapy in critical illness present a confused picture for several reasons. Differences in both oxygen target measures (e.g. oxygen saturation or partial pressure) and the numerical thresholds used to define lower and higher targets complicate comparisons between trials. ⋯ This narrative review aims to make the case that such heterogeneity is likely in relation to oxygen therapy for critically ill patients and that this has significant implications for the design and interpretation of trials of oxygen therapy in this context. HTE for oxygen therapy amongst critically ill patients may explain the contrasting results from different clinical trials of oxygen therapy. Individualised oxygen therapy may overcome this challenge, and future studies should incorporate ways to evaluate this approach.