Intensive care medicine
-
Intensive care medicine · Oct 2010
Review Multicenter StudyHypoalbuminemia and acute kidney injury: a meta-analysis of observational clinical studies.
To test the hypothesis that hypoalbuminemia is independently associated with increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). ⋯ This meta-analysis provides evidence that hypoalbuminemia is a significant independent predictor both of AKI and of death following AKI development. Serum albumin determinations may be of utility in identifying patients at increased risk for AKI or for death after AKI. Controlled studies are warranted to assess interventions aimed at correcting hypoalbuminemia.
-
Intensive care medicine · Oct 2010
Multicenter StudyReasons for refusal of admission to intensive care and impact on mortality.
To identify factors influencing triage decisions and investigate whether admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) could reduce mortality compared with treatment on the ward. ⋯ We suggest that intensivists take great care to avoid ICU admission of patients judged not severe enough for ICU or with low performance status, and they tend to admit surgical patients more readily than medical patients. Interestingly, they do not judge age per se as a reason for refusal of ICU admission. Admission to ICU was associated with a reduction of both 28- and 90-day mortality, particularly in patients with greater severity of illness at time of triage.
-
Intensive care medicine · Oct 2010
Multicenter StudyDevelopment and validation of a questionnaire for quantitative assessment of perceived discomforts in critically ill patients.
To develop and validate the IPREA (Inconforts des Patients de REAnimation) questionnaire for the assessment of discomfort perceived by patients related to their intensive care unit (ICU) stay. ⋯ The psychometric properties and acceptability of the IPREA questionnaire make it a potential instrument for measuring discomfort perceived by unselected ICU patients.