Revista Brasileira de terapia intensiva
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Rev Bras Ter Intensiva · Oct 2015
Observational StudyIs venous blood drawn from femoral access adequate to estimate the central venous oxygen saturation and arterial lactate levels in critically ill patients?
The purpose of this study was to test if venous blood drawn from femoral access can be used to estimate the central venous oxygen saturation and arterial lactate levels in critically ill patients. ⋯ Femoral venous oxygen saturation should not be used as a surrogate of central venous oxygen saturation. However, femoral lactate levels can be used in clinical practice, albeit with caution.
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Rev Bras Ter Intensiva · Oct 2015
Observational StudySerum concentrations of vitamin D and organ dysfunction in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.
To evaluate the serum concentrations of vitamin D and their variations in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock and in control subjects upon admission and after 7 days of hospitalization in the intensive care unit and to correlate these concentrations with the severity of organ dysfunction. ⋯ In the population studied, patients with septic shock showed improvement in the serum concentrations of vitamin D on the seventh day compared with the controls. We also found a correlation between higher vitamin D concentrations and a greater decrease in the severity of organ dysfunction.
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Rev Bras Ter Intensiva · Jul 2015
Comparative StudyHandcrafted cuff manometers do not accurately measure endotracheal tube cuff pressure.
To test the agreement between two handcrafted devices and a cuff-specific manometer. ⋯ The handcrafted manometers do not provide accurate cuff pressure measurements when compared to a cuff-specific device and should not be used to replace the commercial cuff manometers in mechanically ventilated patients.
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Rev Bras Ter Intensiva · Jul 2015
Main characteristics observed in patients with hematologic diseases admitted to an intensive care unit of a Brazilian university hospital.
To evaluate the clinical characteristics of patients with hematological disease admitted to the intensive care unit and the use of noninvasive mechanical ventilation in a subgroup with respiratory dysfunction. ⋯ In this retrospective study with severely ill hematologic patients, those who underwent noninvasive mechanical ventilation at admission and failed to respond to it presented elevated intensive care unit mortality. However, only intubation during the intensive care unit stay was independently associated with a poor outcome. Further studies are needed to define predictors of noninvasive mechanical ventilation failure.