Intensive care medicine
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The management of severe bacterial sepsis is an integral part of intensive care medicine. Early and appropriate treatment with antimicrobials positively affects mortality and significantly reduces the time spent in both intensive care and the hospital. Drug choice is usually made on a "best guess" basis and instituted prior to receipt of appropriate blood, sputum, urine or drainage culture results. ⋯ Several newer agents have been more recently introduced. These drugs include ceftazidime, imipenem/cilastatin, the quinolones and clavulanic acid/semisynthetic penicillin combinations. Other newer drugs currently under evaluation include aztreonam, teicoplanin, the penems and carbapenems.
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Multiple Organ Failure (MOF) has largely been attributed to bacterial sepsis, though conclusive evidence of an essential role for bacteria and/or their endotoxins is still lacking. On the other hand, MOF and the clinical syndrome of sepsis may be aseptically induced in germ-free animals. This paper reviews the evidence that excessive activation of endogenous humoral mediators and inflammatory cells may cause this highly lethal syndrome.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1990
Review Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialMeasurement of tissue perfusion by oxygen transport patterns in experimental shock and in high-risk surgical patients.
Survivors of high-risk general (noncardiac) surgery were observed to have cardiac index (CI) values averaging 4.5 l/min.m2, oxygen delivery (DO2) of greater than 600 ml/min.m2, and oxygen consumption (VO2) of 170 ml/min.m2. In contrast, these values were relatively normal in patients who subsequently died. ⋯ The optimal goals were more easily attained with colloids, red cells, dobutamine, and vasodilators, according to their capacity to improve tissue perfusion, as reflected by increased flow and oxygen transport. The extremely complex interactions between DO2 and VO2 are reviewed.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1990
Case ReportsAccidental hypothermia with cardiac arrest: complete recovery after prolonged resuscitation and rewarming by extracorporeal circulation.
A 51-year-old male remained immersed in sea water (6 degrees C) for 40 min. Brought ashore, the ECG showed asystole. Advanced life support was immediately commenced. ⋯ After 60 min of re-perfusion the patient was be weaned from bypass supported by a high-dose vasopressor infusion and nitroglycerine. He was discharged after 13 days with no evidence of any permanent organ damage. Given the advantage of providing circulatory support, extracorporeal circulation may be useful when rewarming hypothermic victims with cardiac arrest.
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Intensive care medicine · Jan 1990
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial Retracted PublicationThe new phosphodiesterase inhibitor enoximone in patients following cardiac surgery--pharmacokinetics and influence on parameters of coagulation.
Enoximone is a selective inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase-III enzyme (PDE-III) and possesses positive inotropic and vasodilatory properties. The PDE-inhibitor amrinone has been associated with adverse effects on coagulation by decreasing platelets. To investigate the influence of enoximone on hemostasis, 18 patients undergoing elective aorto-coronary bypass grafting and receiving enoximone were compared to a control group (n = 18). ⋯ Continuous infusion, however, maintained effective plasma levels of enoximone; sulfoxide levels were twice as high as enoximone concentrations up until the end of the investigation period. It is concluded that enoximone can be judged to be safe in respect to its effects on coagulation even following ECC and at relatively high doses. The use of continuous infusion results in plasma levels which remain at an effective concentration through to the time that the patient is transferred to the intensive care unit.