Current opinion in critical care
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2016
ReviewBedside nutrition evaluation and physical assessment techniques in critical illness.
The purpose of this review is to highlight emerging techniques used to determine body composition early in ICU stay, their prediction of poor outcome, and what is required before they can be more widely used. ⋯ Mid-arm muscle circumference, SGA fat loss, and SGA muscle wasting have each been found to be better predictors of poor outcome than BMI in ICU patients.Mid-arm muscle circumference, SGA fat loss, and SGA muscle wasting may be able to identify patients who are most likely to benefit from enhanced nutrition support.We need further research incorporating the use of these simple measures to evaluate their ability to accurately identify patients most likely to benefit from enhanced nutritional support.
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Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) are a prominent determinant of postoperative morbidity, mortality, and increased use of healthcare resources. Several scores have been developed to identify patients at higher risk of PPC and have been proposed or validated as tools to predict postoperative respiratory disorders, stratify risk among patients requiring surgery, and to plan clinical studies. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the recent progresses in perioperative medicine concerning the risk assessment, prevention, and treatment of PPCs. ⋯ Several strategies can improve patients' outcome, including risk assessment, intraoperative protective ventilation and postoperative noninvasive ventilation.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2016
ReviewPostoperative complications of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Cardiac surgery is at high risk for the development of postoperative complications involving cardiovascular and respiratory system, as well as kidneys and central nervous system. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on the most recent findings concerning the type and incidence of different complications after cardiac surgery and to summarize the current recommendations. ⋯ Cardiac surgery is still at high risk for postoperative complications. The optimal type of anaesthesia, protective mechanical ventilation during and after surgery as well as haemodynamic management with vasoactive and inotropic drugs is still to be determined.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Aug 2016
ReviewRole of the microbiome, probiotics, and 'dysbiosis therapy' in critical illness.
Loss of 'health-promoting' microbes and overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria (dysbiosis) in ICU is believed to contribute to nosocomial infections, sepsis, and organ failure (multiple organ dysfunction syndrome). This review discusses new understanding of ICU dysbiosis, new data for probiotics and fecal transplantation in ICU, and new data characterizing the ICU microbiome. ⋯ A growing body of evidence suggests critical illness and ubiquitous antibiotic use leads to ICU dysbiosis that is associated with increased ICU infection, sepsis, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Probiotics and FMT show promise as ICU therapies for infection. We hope future-targeted therapies using microbiome signatures can be developed to correct 'illness-promoting' dysbiosis to restore a healthy microbiome post-ICU to improve patient outcomes.