Journal of critical care
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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
Prediction of stroke volume by global left ventricular longitudinal strain in patients undergoing assessment for cardiac transplantation.
Speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) is a novel technique that can be used for assessment of left ventricular (LV) longitudinal deformation dynamics. Using cardiac catheterization as the reference standard, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) assessed by STE and LV stroke volume in patients undergoing assessment for cardiac transplantation. ⋯ In a group of patients referred for cardiac transplant assessment, LV longitudinal deformation analysis by STE closely correlates with LVSVI, suggesting that, in this particular clinical setting, this new parameter may help provide an accurate, noninvasive, and quantitative assessment of LV function.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
Risk of cardiac arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities in patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving packed red blood cell transfusions.
Although transfusion has been linked to the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in cardiac surgical patients, this association has not been investigated in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Evidence supports an inflammatory mechanism in the development of AF, and red cell transfusions also elicit an inflammatory response. We therefore sought to evaluate whether packed red blood cell transfusion increases the risk of AF, ventricular tachycardia (VT), and other arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities in patients with AMI. ⋯ Packed red blood cell transfusion is independently associated with an increased risk of new-onset cardiac arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities in the setting of AMI, even after controlling for traditional risk factors.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
Extravascular lung water index and global end-diastolic volume index should be corrected in children.
The aim of the present study was to explain why extravascular lung water index (EVLWI) is higher and why global end-diastolic blood volume index (GEDVI) is lower in young children when measured with the PiCCO system (Pulsion, Munich, Germany). ⋯ Extravascular lung water index is higher and GEDVI is lower in young children because of changing organ-to-body weight relationships during growth.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2011
The role of echocardiography in the early diagnosis of the complications of endovascular repair of blunt aortic injury.
Endovascular repair of traumatic aortic injury has been associated with severe procedural complications, including endoleaks, coverage of the left subclavian artery, stent collapse, access complications, and questionable durability. Echocardiography has proven to be a valuable tool in the intraoperative detection of these complications. In the current study, we report on the use of echocardiography as an early postoperative diagnostic technique for the evaluation of endovascular stent graft positioning in the intensive care setting. ⋯ Noninvasive echocardiographic monitoring proved to be a valuable tool in the early diagnosis of postoperative stent graft malalignment. To our knowledge, this is the first time that echocardiography is described in the relevant literature as an early diagnostic technique in this setting.