Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2013
ReviewBest interests at end of life: an updated review of decisions made by the Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario.
To increase our understanding of the notion of "best interests" in end of life disagreements through an updated review of decisions made by the Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario. There was a significant increase (235%) in decisions from this tribunal between 2009 and 2011. "Best interests" test is used when no prior expressed wishes are known to the surrogate decision-makers. ⋯ Several lessons are drawn for the benefit of health care teams engaged in disagreements at end of life with SDMs over the best interests of patients.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2013
Comparative Study Controlled Clinical TrialBioenergetic gain of citrate anticoagulated continuous hemodiafiltration--a comparison between 2 citrate modalities and unfractionated heparin.
To determine bioenergetic gain of 2 different citrate anticoagulated continuous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) modalities and a heparin modality. ⋯ The bioenergetic gain of CVVHDF comes from glucose (in ACD), lactate and citrate. The amount substantially differs between modalities despite a similar CVVHDF dose and is unacceptably high when using ACD with calcium-containing lactate-buffered solutions and a higher blood flow. When calculating nutritional needs, we should account for the energy delivered by CVVHDF.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2013
Comparative StudyComparison of high- and low-dose corticosteroid regimens for organ donor management.
Corticosteroids are used to promote hemodynamic stability and reduce inflammatory organ injury after brain death. High-dose (HD) methylprednisolone has become the standard regimen based on comparisons to untreated/historical controls. However, this protocol may exacerbate hyperglycemia. Our objective was to compare a lower-dose (LD) steroid protocol (adequate for hemodynamic stabilization in adrenal insufficiency and sepsis) to the traditional HD regimen in the management of brain-dead organ donors. ⋯ A lower-dose corticosteroid protocol did not result in worsened donor pulmonary or cardiac function, with comparable organs transplanted compared with the traditional HD regimen. Insulin requirements and glycemic control were improved. High-dose methylprednisolone may not be required to support brain-dead donors.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2013
Multicenter StudySafety climate in 5 intensive care units: a nationwide hospital survey using the Greek-Cypriot version of the safety attitudes questionnaire.
Patient safety is considered an antecedent of quality of hospital care. The explicit need to focus on quality of care underpins the aim of the study to evaluate the safety culture and teamwork climate in the public intensive care units (ICUs) of the 5 regional public hospitals in Cyprus as measured by a validated safety attitudes tool. ⋯ Considerable safety climate variations between the ICUs of the regional hospitals of Cyprus have been verified. Age, infrastructure, the severity of cases, and the nurse skill mix are variables that affect the patient safety culture in an ICU environment.