Scientific reports
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Observational Study
The relationship between coagulation abnormality and mortality in ICU patients: a prospective, observational study.
We conducted a prospective, observational study to assess the prognostic value of hemostasis-related parameters in unselected ICU patients. We collected baseline characteristics from 497 consecutive unselected medical and trauma patients during their ICU stay. Each hemostasis-related parameter was analyzed alone or combined with APACHE II scores for any association with ICU mortality by calculating the under the curve (AUC) of the ROC curve, the net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) indices. ⋯ The combined use of FDPs level and APACHE II scores generated an NRI of 9.94% and an IDI of 3.54%. In conclusion, FDP is the best independent indicator of ICU mortality among all hemostasis-related indicators examined. The use of FDP level and APACHE II scores in parallel significantly improves the ability to predict ICU mortality, suggesting the application of these parameters could be used to improve patient care and management in the ICU.
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Hyperuricemia is a strong and independent predictor of all-cause mortality in cardiovascular disease and has been found to play a role in diseases exacerbated by oxidative stress and inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate whether serum uric acid (UA) level is an indicator of outcome in patients with acute paraquat poisoning. A total of 205 subjects who had attempted suicide by oral ingestion of paraquat were admitted to the emergency room between January 2009 and June 2014. ⋯ In a prediction analysis for 30-day mortality, the serum UA level had a cut-off concentration of 284 µmol/L in female patients and 352 µmol/L in male patients. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses showed that white blood cell counts and UA were independent prognostic factors. In conclusion, we showed that serum UA may be an independent predictor of 30-day mortality in patients with paraquat poisoning.
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Sepsis is a principal cause of death in critical care units worldwide and consumes considerable healthcare resources. The aim of our study was to determine whether the early cytokine profile can discriminate between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteraemia (GPB and GNB, respectively) and to assess the prognostic value regarding outcome in critically ill patients with severe abdominal sepsis. The outcome measure was hospital mortality. ⋯ Levels of the proinflammatory mediators TNF-α, IL-8, IL-12 and IFN-γ and the anti-inflammatory mediators IL-1ra, IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β1 were determined and correlated with the nature of the bacteria isolated from the blood culture and outcome. The cytokine profile in our study indicated that the TNF-α levels were 2-fold, IL-8 were 3.3-fold, IFN-γ were 13-fold, IL-1ra were 1.05-fold, IL-4 were 1.4-fold and IL-10 were 1.83-fold higher in the GNB group compared with the GPB group. The TNF-α levels were 4.7-fold, IL-8 were 4.6-fold, IL-1ra were 1.5-fold and IL-10 were 3.3-fold higher in the non-survivors compared with the survivors.
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According to previous studies, the clinical course of sepsis could be affected by preexisting medical conditions, which are very common among patients with sepsis. This observational study aimed at investigating whether common chronic medical conditions affect the 90-day mortality risk in adult Caucasian patients with sepsis. A total of 482 patients with sepsis were enrolled in this study. ⋯ Patients with CKD had higher SOFA scores than patients without CKD (8.9 ± 4.0 and 6.5 ± 3.4, respectively; p < 0.0001). Additionally, an analysis of organ-specific SOFA scores revealed higher scores in three organ systems (kidney, cardiovascular and coagulation). Patients with CKD have the highest 90-day mortality risk compared with patients without CKD or with other chronic medical conditions.
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Our experience with the world is shaped not only directly through personal exposure but also indirectly through observing others and learning from their experiences. Using a conditioning paradigm, we investigated how directly and observationally learned information can affect pain perception, both consciously and non-consciously. ⋯ These results suggest that social observation can induce positive and negative pain modulation. Importantly, the fact that cues learned by observation and activated non-consciously still produced a robust conditioning effect that withstood extinction highlights the role of indirect exposure in placebo and nocebo effects.