Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Multicenter Study
Occurrence and adverse effect on outcome of hyperlactatemia in the critically ill.
Hyperlactatemia is frequent in critically ill patients and is often used as a marker of adverse outcome. However, studies to date have focused on selected intensive care unit (ICU) populations. We sought to determine the occurrence and relation of hyperlactatemia with ICU mortality in all patients admitted to four ICUs in a large regional critical care system. ⋯ Hyperlactatemia is common among the critically ill and predicts risk for death.
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Original research contributions published in Critical Care in 2008 in the fields of respirology and critical care medicine are summarized. Eighteen articles were grouped into the following categories: acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, mechanical ventilation, mechanisms of ventilator-induced lung injury, and tracheotomy decannulation and non-invasive ventilation.
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We review key research papers in cardiology and intensive care published during 2008 in Critical Care. We quote studies on the same subject published in other journals if appropriate. Papers have been grouped into three categories: (a) cardiovascular biomarkers in critical illness, (b) haemodynamic management of septic shock, and (c) haemodynamic monitoring.
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Comment Review
Anticoagulant properties of drotrecogin alfa (activated) during hemofiltration in patients with severe sepsis.
In a retrospective study among 35 severely septic patients treated with drotrecogin alfa (activated) (DrotAA) and renal replacement therapy (RRT), Camporota and colleagues demonstrated that the addition of heparin, epoprostenol, or both to DrotAA during RRT did not improve filter survival. Furthermore, in a multivariate logistic regression analysis, they identified the minimum value in platelet count as the only predictive factor of filter clotting during DrotAA infusion. ⋯ In the study by Camporata and colleagues, DrotAA treatment was not associated with an increase in red blood cell requirements. The results of this study supply a background to clinical decision making when choosing an anticoagulant for RRT in septic patients.
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Loss of intestinal integrity has been implicated as an important contributor to the development of excessive inflammation following severe trauma. Thus far, clinical data concerning the occurrence and significance of intestinal damage after trauma remain scarce. This study investigates whether early intestinal epithelial cell damage occurs in trauma patients and, if present, whether such cell injury is related to shock, injury severity and the subsequent inflammatory response. ⋯ This study reveals early presence of intestinal epithelial cell damage in trauma patients. The extent of intestinal damage is associated with the presence of shock and injury severity. Early intestinal damage precedes and is related to the subsequent developing inflammatory response.