Current opinion in critical care
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Apr 2022
ReviewManagement of gastrointestinal failure in the adult critical care setting.
Gastrointestinal failure is a polymorphic syndrome with multiple causes. Managing the different situations from a practical, metabolic, and nutritional point of view is challenging, which the present review will try to address. ⋯ The heterogeneity of gastrointestinal insufficiency precludes a uniform nutritional management of all critically ill patients but justifies its early detection and the implementation of individualized care.
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Present an outline of acute liver failure, from its definition to its management in critical care, updated with findings of selected newer research. ⋯ Medical treatment of patients with acute liver failure is now associated with significantly improved survival. Better prognostication and selection for emergency liver transplant may further improve care for these patients.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Apr 2022
ReviewHow to manage traumatic brain injury without invasive monitoring?
Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an extremely serious health problem, especially in low-middle income countries (LMICs). The prevalence of severe TBI continues to increase in LMICs. Major limitations in the chain of care for TBI patients are common in LMICs including suboptimal or nonexistent prehospital care, overburdened emergency services, lack of trained human resources and limited availability of ICUs. Basic neuromonitoring, such as intracranial pressure, are unavailable or underutilized and advanced techniques are not available. ⋯ Severe TBI is very prevalent in LMIC and neuromonitoring is often not available in these environments. When intracranial pressure monitors are not available, careful attention to changes on clinical examination, serial imaging and noninvasive monitoring techniques can help recognize intracranial hypertension and effectively guide treatment decisions.
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The aim of this study was to provide an overview on advances in intracranial pressure (ICP) protocols for care, moving from traditional to more recent concepts. ⋯ ICP management is a complex task, moving far than numeric thresholds for activation of interventions. The interactions of intracranial elements requires new interpretations moving beyond classical theories. Most of the traditional clinical studies supporting ICP management are not generating high class evidence. Recommendations for ICP management requires better designed clinical studies using new concepts to generate interventions according to the new era of personalized medicine.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Apr 2022
ReviewIndividualized cerebral perfusion pressure in acute neurological injury: are we ready for clinical use?
Individualizing cerebral perfusion pressure based on cerebrovascular autoregulation assessment is a promising concept for neurological injuries where autoregulation is typically impaired. The purpose of this review is to describe the status quo of autoregulation-guided protocols and discuss steps towards clinical use. ⋯ The effect of autoregulation-guided management on patient outcomes must still be demonstrated in prospective, randomized, controlled trials. Selection of disease-specific protocols and endpoints may serve to evaluate the overall benefit from such approaches.