Journal of critical care
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
Procalcitonin cannot be used as a biomarker of infection in heart surgery patients with acute kidney injury.
We intended to assess how acute kidney injuy impacts on procalcitonin levels in cardiac surgery patients, with or without infection, and whether procalcitonin might be used as a biomarker of infection in acute kidney injuy. ⋯ In acute kidney injuy patients, high procalcitonin levels are a marker of acute kidney injuy but will not be able to differentiate infected from non-infected patients.
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
Antipsychotic utilization in the intensive care unit and in transitions of care.
The objective of this study was to quantify the rate at which newly initiated antipsychotic therapy is continued on discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) and describe risk factors for continuation post-ICU discharge. ⋯ Antipsychotic use is common in the ICU setting, and a significant number of newly initiated patients have therapy continued upon discharge from the hospital.
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
Clinical application of the ProVent score in Korean patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation: A 10-year experience in a university-affiliated tertiary hospital.
We evaluated the clinical usefulness of a prognostic scoring system ("the ProVent score") in Korean patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. ⋯ In our study, the ProVent score could be applied to predict 1-year mortality for patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation in Korea. Among variables contributing to this score, only thrombocytopenia was an independent prognostic factor for 1-year mortality.
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
Key stakeholders' perceptions of the acceptability and usefulness of a tablet-based tool to improve communication and shared decision making in ICUs.
Although barriers to shared decision making in intensive care units are well documented, there are currently no easily scaled interventions to overcome these problems. We sought to assess stakeholders' perceptions of the acceptability, usefulness, and design suggestions for a tablet-based tool to support communication and shared decision making in ICUs. ⋯ There is broad support among stakeholders for the use of a tablet-based tool to improve communication and shared decision making in ICUs. Eliciting the perspectives of key stakeholders early in the design process yielded important insights to create a tool tailored to the needs of surrogates and care providers in ICUs.
-
Journal of critical care · Jun 2016
Remote ischemic conditioning for kidney protection: A meta-analysis.
Results from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) concerning kidney effect of remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) are inconsistent. ⋯ RIC might be beneficial for the prevention of investigator-defined AKI; however, the effect is likely small. Moreover, due to lack of an effect on use of renal replacement therapy, estimated glomerular filtration rate, RIFLE, AKIN, or KDIGO-defined AKI, and serum creatinine, the evidence for RIC is not robust. Finally, recent large-scale RCTs of RIC focusing on patient-centered outcomes do not support the wider application of RIC.