Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Safety and efficacy of regional citrate anticoagulation in continuous venovenous hemodialysis in the presence of liver failure: the Liver Citrate Anticoagulation Threshold (L-CAT) observational study.
Regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) for continuous renal replacement therapy is widely used in intensive care units (ICUs). However, concern exists about the safety of citrate in patients with liver failure (LF). The aim of this study was to evaluate safety and efficacy of RCA in ICU patients with varying degrees of impaired liver function. ⋯ RCA-CVVHD can be safely used in patients with LF. The technique yields excellent filter patency and thus can be recommended as first-line anticoagulation for the majority of ICU patients.
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The results of recent large-scale clinical trials have led us to review our understanding of the metabolic response to stress and the most appropriate means of managing nutrition in critically ill patients. This review presents an update in this field, identifying and discussing a number of areas for which consensus has been reached and others where controversy remains and presenting areas for future research. We discuss optimal calorie and protein intake, the incidence and management of re-feeding syndrome, the role of gastric residual volume monitoring, the place of supplemental parenteral nutrition when enteral feeding is deemed insufficient, the role of indirect calorimetry, and potential indications for several pharmaconutrients.
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This review emphasizes the benefits of parenteral nutrition (PN) in critically ill patients, when prescribed for relevant indications, in adequate quantities, and in due time. Critically ill patients are at risk of energy deficit during their ICU stay, a condition which leads to unfavorable outcomes, due to hypercatabolism secondary to the stress response and the difficulty to optimize feeding. Indirect calorimetry is recommended to define the energy target, since no single predictive equation accurately estimates energy expenditure. ⋯ EN is the first choice for critically ill patients, but difficulties providing optimal nutrition through exclusive EN are frequently encountered. In cases of insufficient EN, individualized supplemental PN should be administered to reduce the infection rate and the duration of mechanical ventilation. PN is a safe therapeutic option as long as sufficient attention is given to avoid hypercaloric feeding.
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This article is one of ten reviews selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2015 and co-published as a series in Critical Care. Other articles in the series can be found online at http://ccforum.com/series/annualupdate2015. Further information about the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine is available from http://www.springer.com/series/8901.
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Provision for the emergence of an influenza pandemic is an urgent issue. The discovery of a novel anti-influenza therapeutic approach would increase the effectiveness of traditional virus-based strategies. This study was undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic effects of anti-high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment on influenza A virus (H1N1)-induced pneumonia in mice. ⋯ Anti-HMGB1 mAb may provide a novel and effective pharmacological strategy for severe influenza virus infection in humans by reducing the inflammatory responses induced by HMGB1.