Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Previous studies evaluating whether subsequent conversion to shockable rhythms in patients who had initially non-shockable rhythms was associated with altered clinical outcome reported inconsistent results. Therefore, we hypothesized that subsequent shock delivery by emergency medical service (EMS) providers altered clinical outcomes in patients with initially non-shockable rhythms. ⋯ In this study of cardiac arrest patients with initially non-shockable rhythms, patients who received early defibrillation by EMS providers had increased 1-month favorable neurological outcomes.
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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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Randomized Controlled Trial
Clinical impact of stress dose steroids in patients with septic shock: insights from the PROWESS-Shock trial.
The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical impact of the administration of intravenous steroids, alone or in conjunction with drotrecogin-alfa (activated) (DrotAA), on the outcomes in septic shock patients. ⋯ In the present study of septic shock patients, after adjustment for treatment selection bias, we were unable to find noticeable positive impact from intravenous steroids for treatment of septic shock at baseline either in patients randomized for DrotAA or placebo.
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This study was performed to assess the early diagnostic, risk stratification, and prognostic value of the angiopoietin-2/angiopoietin-1 ratio (Ang-2/Ang-1) and angiopoietin-1/tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin-like loop epidermal growth factor homology domain 2 ratio (Ang-1/Tie-2) and to compare these factors with procalcitonin (PCT) and the Mortality in Emergency Department Sepsis (MEDS) score in patients with early sepsis in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The Ang-2/Ang-1 and Ang-1/Tie-2 ratios are valuable for risk stratification in patients with sepsis and are associated with the poor clinical outcome of early sepsis in the ED.
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Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is common among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and may have a deleterious effect on COPD prognosis. However, few studies have investigated whether GORD increases the risk of severe outcomes such as intensive care unit (ICU) admittance or mechanical ventilator use among COPD patients. ⋯ This is the first investigation to detect a significantly higher incidence rate and independently increased risk of admission to an ICU and mechanical ventilation use among COPD patients who subsequently developed GORD during the first year following their GORD diagnosis than COPD patients who did not develop GORD.