Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · May 2023
Intensivist physician-to-patient ratios and mortality in the intensive care unit.
A high daily census may hinder the ability of physicians to deliver quality care in the intensive care unit (ICU). We sought to determine the relationship between intensivist-to-patient ratios and mortality among ICU patients. ⋯ Mortality for ICU patients appears resistant to high intensivist caseloads. These results may not generalize to ICUs organized differently than those in this sample, such as ICUs outside the United States.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2023
Multicenter StudyAssociation between prehospital end-tidal carbon dioxide levels and mortality in patients with suspected severe traumatic brain injury.
Severe traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and these patients are frequently intubated in the prehospital setting. Cerebral perfusion and intracranial pressure are influenced by the arterial partial pressure of CO2 and derangements might induce further brain damage. We investigated which lower and upper limits of prehospital end-tidal CO2 levels are associated with increased mortality in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. ⋯ A safe zone of 35-45 mmHg for end-tidal CO2 guidance seems reasonable during prehospital care. Particularly, end-tidal partial pressures of less than 35 mmHg were associated with a significantly increased mortality.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2023
Multicenter StudyClinical features, etiologies, and outcomes in adult patients with meningoencephalitis requiring intensive care (EURECA): an international prospective multicenter cohort study.
We aimed to characterize the outcomes of patients with severe meningoencephalitis requiring intensive care. ⋯ Meningoencephalitis is a severe neurologic syndrome associated with high mortality and disability rates at 3 months. Actionable factors for which improvement could be made include time from hospital to ICU admission, early antimicrobial therapy, and detection of respiratory and cardiovascular complications at admission.