Articles: critical-illness.
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Comparative Study
In 1995 a correlation between malnutrition and poor outcome in critically ill patients still exists.
After more than two decades of nutritional awareness, we designed a prospective study to determine whether malnutrition is still a significant issue in hospitalized patients. Patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) were divided into well-nourished and malnourished groups, according to their nutritional status as assessed by serum albumin level and weight/height ratio. Severity of illness, as assessed by the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS), was used to further stratify the study population. ⋯ In patients with less severe degrees of illness, the existence of malnutrition led to a worse outcome than in sicker patients. To further assess the clinical setting in which hospital-related malnutrition develops or is exacerbated, postoperative patients admitted to the ICU (n = 66) were also studied in a nutritional survey; the results of this survey indicate that: (a) the incidence of malnutrition in the surgical population is similar to that in the whole study population, and (b) hospital-related malnutrition in surgical patients mainly develops during their preoperative stay in general wards. Whereas our conclusion that patients' outcome is adversely affected by a poor nutritional status is not new or startling, malnutrition continues to be a persistent problem in hospitalized patients, which can be readily identified using simple and easily available indices and, furthermore, readily treated.
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Critical care medicine · Jan 1996
Multicenter StudySimplified Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System: the TISS-28 items--results from a multicenter study.
To validate a simplified version of the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System, the TISS-28, and to determine the association of TISS-28 with the time spent on scored and nonscored nursing activities. ⋯ The simplified TISS-28 explains 86% of the variation in TISS-76 and can therefore replace the original version in the clinical practice in the ICU. Per shift, a typical nurse is capable of delivering nursing activities equal to 46 TISS-28 points.
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Continued sedation has important practical implications on overcoming the physical and psychic stress which in turn, has important practical implications on the well-being of patients in conditions of intensive care unit. It is the purpose of the study to assess the quality and characteristics of sustained sedation with constant propofol (Diprivan) and fentanyl infusion. As a result of the study the inference is reached that sedation with Diprivan and fentanyl, administered as constant infusion, lends itself readily to control, and what is more, it is free of noteworthy side effects. To secure permanent sedation it is necessary to adapt the infusional rate to the clinical signs in compliance with the concrete patient and individual needs.
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Comparative Study
Outcomes in severely ill patients transported without prehospital ALS.
Because of the debate regarding the impact of advanced life support (ALS) care on the outcome of prehospital patients, we monitored the influence of lack of sophisticated prehospital treatment in cases of severe illness arriving by ambulance to the emergency department (ED). A prospective cohort study to examine and compare the outcome of trauma- and nontrauma-induced "ALS-eligible" cases in the setting of no prehospital care was carried out from August 1, 1993 through May 31, 1994. On arriving at the ED, patients meeting the criteria for ALS cases and sent by EMS public prehospital personnel were assessed for subjective and objective status and change in severity by triage nurses as well as being followed up for neurological status until discharged from the hospital. ⋯ However, subgroup analysis showed that objective measures worsened in transit in nearly 18% of trauma victims, a rate nearly 3 times greater than that of medical cases. Moreover, neurological outcome was particularly poor in trauma cases. These results suggest that ALS care may be valuable for severely ill trauma victims.
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To determine whether scoring on the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III at admission can predict the development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and mortality in critically ill surgical patients. ⋯ The development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome correlated with higher APACHE III scores but was independent of the type of perforation. Only the development of overt multiple organ failure predicted death. Combined use of APACHE III and the multiple organ dysfunction score provides improved prediction of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, but further enhancements are needed before prediction of outcome in individual patients is reliable.