Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
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Observational Study
Relationship of mottling score, skin microcirculatory perfusion indices and biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction in patients with septic shock: an observational study.
In patients with septic shock, the skin is often chosen for the evaluation of peripheral perfusion and oxygenation. Changes in skin microcirculatory vessel oxygen saturation and relative hemoglobin concentration can be described using a mottling score or captured with hyperspectral imaging. However, the effectiveness of the mottling score in assessing microcirculation remains to be shown. We hypothesize that the mottling score in patients with septic shock is related to skin microcirculatory perfusion indices quantified by hyperspectral imaging, biomarkers that reflect endothelium activation and damage, and clinical outcome. ⋯ Higher mottling scores are associated with lower microcirculatory oxygen saturation but with significant overlap between scores. Microcirculatory oxygen saturation is a quantitative measure of peripheral oxygenation and is more specific than the mottling score in predicting 28-day mortality.
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Over the last decade, multiple large randomized controlled trials have studied alternative transfusion strategies in critically ill patients, demonstrating the safety of restrictive transfusion strategies. Due to the lack of international guidelines specific for the intensive care unit (ICU), we hypothesized that a large heterogeneity in transfusion practice in this patient population exists. The aims of this study were to describe the current transfusion practices and identify the knowledge gaps. ⋯ Red blood cell transfusion practice for the general ICU population is restrictive, while for different subpopulations, higher Hb thresholds are applied. Furthermore, practice in plasma and platelet transfusion is heterogeneous, and local transfusion guidelines are lacking in the majority of the ICUs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Differential contractile response of critically ill patients to neuromuscular electrical stimulation.
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been investigated as a preventative measure for intensive care unit-acquired weakness. Trial results remain contradictory and therefore inconclusive. As it has been shown that NMES does not necessarily lead to a contractile response, our aim was to characterise the response of critically ill patients to NMES and investigate potential outcome benefits of an adequate contractile response. ⋯ Patients show a differential contractile response to NMES, which appears to be dependent on the severity of illness and also relevant for potential outcome benefits.
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Enterococcus species are associated with an increased morbidity in intraabdominal infections (IAI). However, their impact on mortality remains uncertain. Moreover, the influence on outcome of the appropriate or inappropriate status of initial antimicrobial therapy (IAT) is subjected to debate, except in septic shock. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether an IAT that did not cover Enterococcus spp. was associated with 30-day mortality in ICU patients presenting with IAI growing with Enterococcus spp. ⋯ An IAT which does not cover Enterococcus is associated with an increased 30-day mortality in ICU patients presenting with an IAI growing with Enterococcus, especially when it is not an E. faecalis alone. It seems reasonable to use an IAT active against Enterococcus in severe postoperative ICU-acquired IAI, especially when a third-generation cephalosporin has been used within 3 months.