Annals of intensive care
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Annals of intensive care · Jan 2014
Postpartum acute renal failure: a multicenter study of risk factors in patients admitted to ICU.
Even in developed countries, severe specific pregnancy complications may occur in the immediate postpartum period and require admission to the ICU. The characteristics and risk factors of acute renal failure (ARF) induced by these complications and their treatments are not well known. ⋯ HELLP syndrome associated with postpartum haemorrhage induces a high risk of ARF in the complicated postpartum setting. A particular attention should be given to treatments that could worsen the kidney function in that situation.
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Annals of intensive care · Jan 2014
Is there still a role for the lung injury score in the era of the Berlin definition ARDS?
The Lung Injury Score (LIS) remains a commonly utilized measure of lung injury severity though the additive value of LIS to predict ARDS outcomes over the recent Berlin definition of ARDS, which incorporates severity, is not known. ⋯ In a large, multi-ICU cohort of patients with ARDS, both LIS and the Berlin definition severity stages were associated with increased in-hospital morbidity and mortality. However, predictive validity of both scores was marginal, and there was no additive value of LIS over Berlin. Although neither LIS nor the Berlin definition were designed to prognosticate outcomes, these findings suggest that the role of LIS in characterizing lung injury severity in the era of the Berlin definition ARDS may be limited.
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Annals of intensive care · Jan 2014
Earlobe arterialized capillary blood gas analysis in the intensive care unit: a pilot study.
Earlobe arterialized capillary blood gas analysis can be used to estimate arterial gas content and may be suitable for diagnosis and management of critically ill patients. However, its utility and applicability in the ICU setting remains unexplored. ⋯ Earlobe capillary blood gas analysis is precise and can be useful for detecting extreme gasometrical values. Diagnosis of ARDS can be done accurately using capillary measurements. Although this technique may be insufficient for precise management of patients in the ICU, it has the potential for important benefits in the acute phase of various critical conditions and in other critical care arenas, such as in emergency medicine, advanced medical transport and pre-hospital critical care.
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Annals of intensive care · Jan 2014
The methodological quality of animal research in critical care: the public face of science.
Animal research (AR) findings often do not translate to humans; one potential reason is the poor methodological quality of AR. We aimed to determine this quality of AR reported in critical care journals. ⋯ The reported methodological quality of AR was poor. Unless the quality of AR significantly improves, the practice may be in serious jeopardy of losing public support.
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Annals of intensive care · Jan 2014
Self-reported attitudes versus actual practice of oxygen therapy by ICU physicians and nurses.
High inspiratory oxygen concentrations are frequently administered in ventilated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) but may induce lung injury and systemic toxicity. We compared beliefs and actual clinical practice regarding oxygen therapy in critically ill patients. ⋯ Most ICU clinicians acknowledge the potential adverse effects of prolonged exposure to hyperoxia and report a low tolerance for high oxygen levels. However, in actual clinical practice, a large proportion of their ICU patients was exposed to higher arterial oxygen levels than self-reported target ranges.