Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Transthoracic 3D cardiac analysis is enticing in its potential simplicity and wealth of data available. It has been suggested to be accurate vs magnetic resonance imaging in relatively stable patients, but feasibility and agreement with conventional echocardiographic assessment of stroke volume (SV) have not been thoroughly assessed in critically ill patients, who are traditionally harder to image. The objectives of this study were to compare 3D transthoracic volumetric analysis vs Doppler assessment of SV (which is suggested to be accurate in the critically ill) and Simpson's biplane assessment in a cohort typical of the intensive care unit (ICU), where accurate assessment is important: mechanically ventilated patients with a significant ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) mismatch. We hypothesised that it would be feasible but might lack agreement. ⋯ 3DLV and 3DRV volumetric analyses appear feasible (obtainable) in the majority of mechanically ventilated ICU patients. Compared with the Doppler method, 3DLV and 3DRV volumetric analyses underestimate SV. The large limits of agreement between the methods also cast doubt on their comparability. Given the scenarios in which SV analysis is required (e.g., assessment of cardiac performance), our study cautions against the use of 3D SV clinically.
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Lung ultrasound may be a reasonable alternative to chest radiography for the identification of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but the diagnostic performance of lung ultrasound for ARDS is uncertain. We therefore analyzed the clinical outcomes of ARDS diagnosed according to the Berlin Definition, using either chest radiography (Berlin-CXR) or lung ultrasound (Berlin-LUS) as an alternative imaging method. ⋯ For the identification of ARDS using the Berlin definition, both chest radiography and lung ultrasound were equally related to mortality. The Berlin definition using lung ultrasound helped identify patients at higher risk of death, even if these patients did not fulfill the conventional Berlin definition using chest radiography. However, the moderate overlap of patients when chest imaging modalities differed suggests that chest radiography and lung ultrasound should be complementary rather than used interchangeably.
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Dyscarbia is common in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients and its association to neurological outcome is undetermined. ⋯ Dyscarbia is common after ROSC. No statistically significant association between PaCO2 in the post-cardiac arrest phase and neurological outcome at 6 months after cardiac arrest was detected. There was no significant interaction between mild hypercapnia and temperature in relation to neurological outcome.
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The early prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI) can facilitate timely intervention and prevent complications. We aimed to understand the predictive value of urinary liver-type fatty-acid binding protein (L-FABP) levels on admission to medical (non-surgical) cardiac intensive care units (CICUs) for AKI, both independently and in combination with serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels. ⋯ Urinary L-FABP and serum NT-proBNP levels on admission are independent predictors of AKI, and when used in combination, improve early prediction of AKI in patients hospitalized at medical CICUs.