Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2015
Observational StudyProcalcitonin as a rapid diagnostic biomarker to differentiate between culture-negative bacterial sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome: A prospective, observational, cohort study.
Differentiation between culture-negative sepsis and noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) remains a diagnostic challenge for clinicians, both conditions having similar clinical presentations. Therefore, a swift accurate diagnostic tool, which helps differentiate these 2 conditions would immensely aid appropriate therapeutic continuum. This prospective study was conducted to evaluate the potential diagnostic role of biomarkers, procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), in culture-negative sepsis patients. ⋯ Procalcitonin can accurately differentiate culture-negative sepsis from noninfectious SIRS and thereby contribute to early diagnosis and effective management of these conditions.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2015
Epidemiology and outcomes of acute kidney injury in critically ill surgical patients.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in critically ill patients but is poorly defined in surgical patients. We studied AKI in a representative cohort of critically ill surgical patients. ⋯ Acute kidney injury is common in critically ill surgical patients and is associated with increased mortality, persisting renal impairment and greater resource use.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2015
Relation between peak and integral of the diaphragm electromyographic activity at different levels of support during weaning from mechanical ventilation: A physiologic study.
To investigate the relationship between peak (EAdipeak) and area under the curve (EAdiAUC) of diaphragm electrical activity, and to evaluate the validity of their ratio (P/I index) as a measure of the imbalance between drive and sustainability of effort demand at different support levels. ⋯ The relationship between EAdipeak and EAdiAUC and the P/I index may give important information on the balance between respiratory drive and inspiratory demand sustainability.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2015
Single-center large-cohort study into quality of life in Dutch intensive care unit subgroups, 1 year after admission, using EuroQoL EQ-6D-3L.
The goal of this study was to describe long-term survival and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), measured by EQ-6D, in a general intensive care unit (ICU) population. ⋯ One year after ICU admission, HRQoL was significantly lower than in the reference population. Notably, marked variations were found across subgroups.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2015
Positive fluid balance as a prognostic factor for mortality and acute kidney injury in severe sepsis and septic shock.
The purpose of this study is to assess whether late positive fluid balances are associated with acute kidney injury and mortality in severe sepsis and septic shock. ⋯ Late positive fluid balance is an independent risk factor for mortality in severe sepsis. Positive fluid balances are not associated with either protection against or risk for acute kidney injury.