Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Observational Study
Palmar skin conductance variability and the relation to stimulation, pain and the motor activity assessment scale in intensive care unit patients.
Many intensive care unit (ICU) patients describe pain and other adverse feelings that may impact long-term psychological morbidity. Sympathetically mediated palmar skin conductance variability is related to emotionally induced perspiration and correlates with pain levels in the perioperative setting but has not been studied in ICU patients. ⋯ In critically ill patients, NSCF may be more useful evaluating emotional distress rather than pain alone. It needs to be assessed whether NSCF monitoring is clinically useful and whether controlling emotional distress with the aid of such monitoring may impact on patient care and outcomes.
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Review Meta Analysis
Strategies for prevention of postoperative delirium: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.
The ideal measures to prevent postoperative delirium remain unestablished. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the significance of potential interventions. ⋯ The included studies showed great inconsistencies in definition, incidence, severity and duration of postoperative delirium. Meta-analysis supported dexmedetomidine sedation, multicomponent interventions and antipsychotics were useful in preventing postoperative delirium.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
The influence of gender on the epidemiology of and outcome from severe sepsis.
The impact of gender on outcome in critically ill patients is unclear. We investigated the influence of gender on the epidemiology of severe sepsis and associated morbidity and mortality in a large cohort of ICU patients in the region of Piedmont in Italy. ⋯ In this large regional Italian cohort of ICU patients, there were more male than female admissions. The prevalence of severe sepsis was lower in women than in men, but female gender was independently associated with a higher risk of death in the ICU for patients with severe sepsis.