Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Feb 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyIncidence and Outcomes Associated With Early Heart Failure Pharmacotherapy in Patients With Ongoing Cardiogenic Shock.
Guidelines recommend β-blockers and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers to improve long-term survival in hemodynamically stable myocardial infarction patients with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. The prevalence and outcomes associated with β and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blocker therapy in patients with ongoing cardiogenic shock is unknown. ⋯ The administration of β or renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers is common in North America and Europe in patients with myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock prior to cardiogenic shock resolution. This therapeutic practice was independently associated with higher 30-day mortality, although a statistically significant difference was only observed in the subgroup of patients administered β-blockers.
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Critical care medicine · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyAssociation Between Hyperoxia and Mortality After Stroke: A Multicenter Cohort Study.
To test the hypothesis that hyperoxia was associated with higher in-hospital mortality in ventilated stroke patients admitted to the ICU. ⋯ In ventilated stroke patients admitted to the ICU, arterial hyperoxia was independently associated with in-hospital death as compared with either normoxia or hypoxia. These data underscore the need for studies of controlled reoxygenation in ventilated critically ill stroke populations. In the absence of results from clinical trials, unnecessary oxygen delivery should be avoided in ventilated stroke patients.
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Critical care medicine · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyBedside Selection of Positive End-Expiratory Pressure in Mild, Moderate, and Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
Positive end-expiratory pressure exerts its effects keeping open at end-expiration previously collapsed areas of the lung; consequently, higher positive end-expiratory pressure should be limited to patients with high recruitability. We aimed to determine which bedside method would provide positive end-expiratory pressure better related to lung recruitability. ⋯ Bedside positive end-expiratory pressure selection methods based on lung mechanics or absolute esophageal pressures provide positive end-expiratory pressure levels unrelated to lung recruitability and similar in mild, moderate, and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, whereas the oxygenation-based method provided positive end-expiratory pressure levels related with lung recruitability progressively increasing from mild to moderate and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome.
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Critical care medicine · Feb 2014
Multicenter StudyTiming of Limitations in Life Support in Acute Lung Injury Patients: A Multisite Study.
Substantial variability exists in the timing of limitations in life support for critically ill patients. Our objective was to investigate how the timing of limitations in life support varies with changes in organ failure status and time since acute lung injury onset. ⋯ Persistent organ failure is associated with an increase in the rate of limitations in life support independent of the absolute magnitude of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, and this association strengthens during the first weeks of treatment. During the first 5 days after acute lung injury onset, limitations were significantly more common in medical ICUs than surgical ICUs.
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Critical care medicine · Feb 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyStructure, Process, and Annual ICU Mortality Across 69 Centers: United States Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group Critical Illness Outcomes Study.
Hospital-level variations in structure and process may affect clinical outcomes in ICUs. We sought to characterize the organizational structure, processes of care, use of protocols, and standardized outcomes in a large sample of U.S. ICUs. ⋯ In a sample of 69 ICUs, a daily plan of care review and a lower bed-to-nurse ratio were both associated with a lower annual ICU mortality. In contrast to 24-hour intensivist staffing, improvement in team communication is a low-cost, process-targeted intervention strategy that may improve clinical outcomes in ICU patients.