Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2011
Is hyperchloremia associated with mortality in critically ill patients? A prospective cohort study.
The aim of the study was to determine if acid-base variables are associated with hospital mortality. ⋯ Hypoalbuminemia and hyperchloremia were associated with mortality. This result involving chloride is something new and should be tested in future studies.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2011
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neuron-specific enolase, but not S100β, levels are associated to the occurrence of delirium in intensive care unit patients.
The aim of this study was to determine the association between serum concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and S100β and the occurrence of delirium in critically ill patients. ⋯ Our results suggest that admission serum BDNF and NSE levels are associated with the occurrence of delirium in ICU patients.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2011
Is surgical airway necessary for airway management in deep neck infections and Ludwig angina?
Deep neck infections are potentially life-threatening conditions because of airway compromise. Management requires early recognition, antibiotics, surgical drainage, and effective airway control. The Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program 12 states that awake tracheostomy is the treatment of choice for these patients. ⋯ Treatment of Ludwig angina and deep neck abscesses requires good clinical judgment. Patients with deep neck infections and symptoms of airway compromise may be safely managed with advanced airway control techniques.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2011
High circulating N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide is associated with greater systolic cardiac dysfunction and nonresponsiveness to fluids in septic vs nonseptic critically ill patients.
It is still unclear whether circulating levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) reflect cardiac filling and function in the critically ill patient, particularly during sepsis and a proinflammatory response that may induce NT-proBNP release from the heart. ⋯ Our data suggest that an increased circulating NT-proBNP plasma level is an independent marker of greater systolic cardiac dysfunction, irrespective of filling status, and is a better predictor of fluid nonresponsiveness in septic vs nonseptic, critically ill patients.
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Journal of critical care · Feb 2011
Toward optimal display of physiologic status in critical care: I. Recreating bedside displays from archived physiologic data.
Physiologic data display is essential to decision making in critical care. Current displays echo first-generation hemodynamic monitors dating to the 1970s and have not kept pace with new insights into physiology or the needs of clinicians who must make progressively more complex decisions about their patients. The effectiveness of any redesign must be tested before deployment. Tools that compare current displays with novel presentations of processed physiologic data are required. Regenerating conventional physiologic displays from archived physiologic data is an essential first step. ⋯ We present Multi Wave Animator (MWA) framework--a set of open source MATLAB (MathWorks, Inc., Natick, MA, USA) scripts aimed to create dynamic visualizations (eg, video files in AVI format) of patient vital signs recorded from bedside (intensive care unit or operating room) monitors. Multi Wave Animator creates animations in which vital signs are displayed to mimic their appearance on current bedside monitors. The source code of MWA is freely available online together with a detailed tutorial and sample data sets.