Crit Care Resusc
-
Inhaled nitric oxide has been used for 30 years to improve oxygenation and decrease pulmonary vascular resistance. In the past 15 years, there has been increased understanding of the role of endogenous nitric oxide on cell surface receptors, mitochondria, and intracellular processes involving calcium and superoxide radicals. This has led to several animal and human experiments revealing a potential role for administered nitric oxide or nitric oxide donors in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome or ischaemia-reperfusion injury, and in patients for whom exposure of blood to artificial surfaces has occurred.
-
Observational Study
Autonomic function, postprandial hypotension and falls in older adults at one year after critical illness.
Postprandial hypotension occurs frequently in older survivors of critical illness at 3 months after discharge. We aimed to determine whether postprandial hypotension and its predictors - gastric dysmotility and cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction - persist or resolve as older survivors of critical illness recover, and whether postprandial hypotension after intensive care unit (ICU) discharge is associated with adverse outcomes at 12 months. ⋯ In older adults who were evaluated 3 and 12 months after ICU discharge, postprandial hypotension at 3 months was associated with an increased risk of subsequent falls, but the prevalence of postprandial hypotension decreased with time.
-
Pleural effusions in the intensive care unit (ICU) are clinically important. However, there is limited information regarding effusions in such patients. We aimed to estimate the prevalence, patient characteristics, mortality, effusion duration, radiological resolution, drainage, and reaccumulation rates of pleural effusions in ICU patients. ⋯ Pleural effusions are common in ICU patients and drainage is infrequent. One-third of effusions reaccumulate, even after drainage, and one in six patients with an effusion die in hospital. This information helps clinicians estimate resolution rates, advantages and disadvantages of effusion drainage, and overall prognosis.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Statistical analysis plan for the Maximizing the Efficacy of Sedation and Reducing Neurological Dysfunction and Mortality in Septic Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure trial.
The best sedative medication to reduce delirium, mortality and long term brain dysfunction in mechanically ventilated septic patients is unclear. This multicentre, double-blind, randomised trial investigates the short term and long term effects of dexmedetomidine versus propofol for sedation in mechanically ventilated severely septic patients. ⋯ This study will compare the effects of two sedatives in mechanically ventilated severely septic patients. In keeping with the guidance on statistical principles for clinical trials, we have developed a comprehensive statistical analysis plan by which we will adhere, as this will avoid bias and support transparency and reproducibility.