Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2018
Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) for emergency cardiac support.
Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) may provide benefit to patients in refractory cardiac arrest and cardiogenic shock. We aim to summarize our center's 6-year experience with resuscitative VA-ECMO. ⋯ The initiation of VA-ECMO at our center for treatment of refractory cardiac arrest and cardiogenic shock yielded a high proportion of survivors and favorable neurological outcomes.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2018
Comparative StudyDiagnostic and predictive values of procalcitonin in bloodstream infections for nosocomial pneumonia.
We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of PCT to distinguish between gram-negative (GN) and gram-positive (GP) bloodstream infections nosocomial pneumonia (NP) patients and compared PCT levels with the pneumonia severity index (PSI) for predicting mortality. ⋯ PCT could differentiate between GN and GP bloodstream infections in patients with NP. However, PCT levels were less predictive of mortality compared with the PSI.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2018
Predictors of dysphagia in critically injured patients with neck trauma.
Trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are at heightened risk for oropharyngeal dysphagia and pulmonary aspiration. Timely and appropriate referrals for dysphagia may reduce mortality rates and hospital readmissions. This study sought to identify predictors of dysphagia in a large cohort of patients with multiple traumatic injuries. ⋯ Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common complication in trauma patients. Our results propose a set of predictors that should be considered when identifying critically injured patients at risk for dysphagia.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2018
Validation of the Prognosis for Prolonged Ventilation (ProVent) score in patients receiving 14days of mechanical ventilation.
To evaluate the performance of the Prognosis for Prolonged Ventilation (ProVent) 14 score in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV). ⋯ The ProVent 14 score accurately identified patients receiving PMV with a high 1-year mortality risk. Further validation in a larger sample is required.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2018
Exploring the impact of using measured or estimated values for height and weight on the relationship between BMI and acute hospital mortality.
Studies have demonstrated an association between height and weight and mortality among patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the optimal body mass index (BMI) might be well above the optimal values in the general population. Most of these studies have relied on estimated values, the validity of which is not known. ⋯ For epidemiological comparisons of mortality among critically ill adults, estimated values of height and weight appear valid.