Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Mar 2007
Editorial CommentLactate in shock: a high-octane fuel for the heart?
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Intensive care medicine · Mar 2007
Multicenter StudyIncidence, treatment, and outcome of severe sepsis in ICU-treated adults in Finland: the Finnsepsis study.
To determine the incidence and outcome of severe sepsis in the adult Finnish population and to evaluate how treatment guidelines in severe sepsis are applied in clinical practice. ⋯ This prospective study found the incidence of ICU-treated severe sepsis in Finland to be 0.38 per 1,000 of the population. The ICU and hospital mortalities were also lower than earlier reported in United States or Australia. Evidence-based sepsis therapies were not used as often as recommended.
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Intensive care medicine · Mar 2007
Comparative StudyEffects of levosimendan and dobutamine in experimental acute endotoxemia: a preliminary controlled study.
To test the hypothesis that levosimendan increases systemic and intestinal oxygen delivery (DO(2)) and prevents intramucosal acidosis in septic shock. ⋯ Compared with dobutamine, levosimendan increased intestinal blood flow and diminished intramucosal acidosis in this experimental model of sepsis.
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Intensive care medicine · Mar 2007
Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein as markers of systemic inflammatory response syndrome severity in critically ill children.
To analyse the clinical value of procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP) and leucocyte count in the diagnosis of paediatric sepsis and in the stratification of patients according to severity. ⋯ PCT is a better diagnostic marker of sepsis in critically ill children than CRP. The CRP, and especially PCT, may become a helpful clinical tool to stratify patients with SIRS according to disease severity.