The Thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon
-
Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Dec 2013
Review Case ReportsSevere ARDS induced by fusobacterial infections: a rare clinical presentation of Lemierre syndrome.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) poses a major challenge in intensive care settings. The main underlying causes of ARDS are trauma, pancreatitis, and pulmonary manifestation of systemic inflammatory response syndrome/sepsis. Lemierre syndrome represents a nearly forgotten entity arising from oropharyngeal infections with Fusobacterial species, and it is of renewed and increasing interest because of evolving antibiotic resistances. We report two cases of young female patients afflicted by Lemierre syndrome with additional severe ARDS and present an overview of the current literature.
-
Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Dec 2013
Prolonged intensive care unit stay of patients after cardiac surgery: initial clinical results and follow-up.
Prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay in cardiac surgery patients often results in a poorer clinical course and decreased survival postdischarge. Data on clinical outcomes and prognosis are limited. We aimed to identify perioperative factors that would predict prolonged ICU stay and to evaluate their impact on clinical outcomes. ⋯ Prolonged ICU stay is associated with a complicated clinical course and decreased overall survival. Treatment for patients with respiratory impairment should be aggressively optimized.
-
Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Dec 2013
Survival, functional capacity, and quality of life after cardiac surgery followed by long-term intensive care stay.
The rising prevalence of multimorbid patients undergoing cardiac surgery often leads to prolonged postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) treatment. The fate of these patients after discharge is poorly investigated. This study is aimed to assess survival, functional outcome, and quality of life (QOL) in patients after an ICU stay of at least 5 days. ⋯ Long-term ICU treatment after cardiac surgery is related to a high in-hospital and follow-up mortality. The physical and psychological recovery of the survivors is encouraging, justifying the extensive engagement of hospital resources.