Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
Correlation between coagulopathy and outcome in severe head trauma in neurointensive care and trauma units.
Abnormal blood coagulation after traumatic brain injury is a common finding. Some studies have proposed these changes as useful predictors of outcome in patients with head trauma. This study aimed at evaluating the association of the routine tests of blood coagulation within the first hours after severe head trauma with prognosis of patients with severe head trauma. ⋯ On-admission PT, PTT, INR and platelet count may be used as predictors of outcome and prognosis of patients with severe head trauma.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
Herpes simplex virus: a marker of severity in bacterial ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most frequent nosocomial infection in intensive care units and has a high morbidity and mortality rate. It is mainly a bacterial disease, although the potential role of viruses as pathogens or copathogens in VAP is under discussion. Our study aims were to determine the incidence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in the lower respiratory tract (LRT) secretions in patients with bacterial VAP and to assess its potential clinical relevance. ⋯ Herpes simplex virus excretion in LRT secretions is not infrequent in VAP, and it is associated with greater severity and worse prognosis.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
Bacteremia in Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia: outcomes and epidemiology.
Staphylococcus aureus represents a major cause of pneumonia in critically ill patients. Although bacteremia may complicate S aureus pneumonia, the epidemiology of and outcomes associated with bacteremia in this syndrome are poorly described. ⋯ Bacteremia often arises in S aureus pneumonia and is associated with both increased morbidity and mortality. Several simple clinical factors to determine clinical features identify patients with S aureus pneumonia likely to have simultaneous bacteremia.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
Cross-validation of a modified score to predict mortality in cancer patients admitted to the intensive care unit.
The aim of this study was to cross-validate an automated and customized severity of illness score as a means of predicting death among adult cancer patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ The modified Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score is a good and valid predictor of cancer patients' risk of dying in the ICU and/or hospital despite the modifications needed to automate the score using existing electronic data.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
Increased myeloperoxidase enzyme activity in plasma is an indicator of inflammation and onset of sepsis.
Circulating lipopolysaccharides released from bacteria may activate both neutrophils and monocytes. The activated neutrophils release myeloperoxidase (MPO), a specific enzyme with strong oxidative activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate MPO enzyme activity in plasma of critically ill patients and to check the hypothesis that these concentrations in plasma would be higher in sepsis and systemic inflammatory conditions, as neutrophils release their contents before proliferating in response to stress. ⋯ The plasma MPO concentrations may be a marker of the neutrophil proliferation and severity of inflammation.