Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
-
Standardization of data collection in severely injured trauma patients in order to find the best performance and practice has been an issue for more than 20 years. The incidence of trauma has decreased and outcomes have improved over the past decades. Trauma still remains an important public health problem, however, and is listed by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of death and disability. ⋯ In-depth analysis is currently only partially possible. The future of standardizing data collection in trauma looks bright. However, bridging and cross-linking is necessary to a great extent in the future.
-
Observational Study
Steroidogenesis in the adrenal dysfunction of critical illness: impact of etomidate.
This study was aimed at characterizing basal and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-induced steroidogenesis in sepsis and nonsepsis patients with a suspicion of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI), taking the use of etomidate-inhibiting 11β-hydroxylase into account. ⋯ A single dose of etomidate may attenuate stimulated more than basal cortisol synthesis. However, it may only partly contribute, particularly in the stressed sepsis patient, to the adrenal dysfunction of CIRCI, in addition to substrate deficiency.
-
Editorial Comment
Fixing the leak: targeting the vascular endothelium in sepsis.
Angiopoietin-1 is a Tie-2 receptor agonist that stabilizes vascular endothelium, promoting endothelial maturation and preventing capillary leak. Angiopoietin-2 is largely a competitive partial antagonist that is markedly elevated in humans and animal models of sepsis and other inflammatory states, directly disrupts the endothelial barrier, and has been correlated with end-organ dysfunction and death in sepsis. ⋯ Importantly, the angiopoietin-1 variant was administered 20 hours after initial lipopolysaccharide challenge. This study adds to the evidence that the angiopoietin/Tie-2 axis represents a modifiable pathway through which targeted therapy may be able to directly reverse part of the pathology of sepsis.
-
Comparative Study
Negative- versus positive-pressure ventilation in intubated patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Recent experimental data suggest that continuous external negative-pressure ventilation (CENPV) results in better oxygenation and less lung injury than continuous positive-pressure ventilation (CPPV). The effects of CENPV on patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain unknown. ⋯ CENPV with a tank respirator improved gas exchange in patients with ARDS at lower transpulmonary, airway and intraabdominal pressures and, at least initially improving haemodynamics. Our observations encourage the consideration of further studies on the physiological effects and the clinical effectiveness of CENPV in patients with ARDS.
-
Fluid overload is a clinical problem frequently related to cardiac and renal dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate fluid overload and changes in serum creatinine as predictors of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity after cardiac surgery. ⋯ Although both fluid overload and changes in serum creatinine are prognostic markers after cardiac surgery, it seems that progressive fluid overload may be an earlier and more sensitive marker of renal dysfunction affecting heart function and, as such, it would allow earlier intervention and more effective control in post cardiac surgery patients.