2010 Dec - Urine output on an intensive care unit: case-control study

Solomon AW, Kirwan CJ, Alexander ND, Nimako K, Jurukov A, Forth RJ, Rahman TM; on behalf of the Prospective Analysis of Renal Compensation for Hypohydration in Exhausted Doctors (PARCHED) Investigators.; BMJ. 2010 Dec 14;341
OBJECTIVE:
To compare urine output between junior doctors in an intensive care unit and the patients for whom they are responsible.

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2010 Dec - NATIONAL SURVEILLANCE OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA A(H1N1) INFECTION-RELATED ADMISSIONS TO INTENSIVE CARE UNITS DURING THE 2009–10 WINTER PEAK IN DENMARK: TWO COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES

S Gubbels ()1,2, A Perner 3, P Valentiner-Branth 1, K Mølbak1. Eurosurveillance, Volume 15, Issue 49, 09 December 2010
Surveillance of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) in Denmark was enhanced during the 2009–10 winter season with a system monitoring the burden of the pandemic on intensive care units (ICUs), in order to inform policymakers and detect shortages in ICUs in a timely manner.

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2010 Dec - De-escalation of antimicrobial treatment for adults with sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock [Review]

Gomes Silva BN, Andriolo RB, Atallah AN, Salomão R.; Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Dec 8;12:
BACKGROUND: Mortality rates among patients with sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock ranges from 27% to 54%. Empirical broad-spectrum antimicrobial treatment is aimed at achieving adequate antimicrobial therapy and thus reducing mortality. However, there is a risk that empirical broad-spectrum antimicrobial treatment can expose patients to overuse of antimicrobials. De-escalation has been proposed as a strategy to replace empirical broad-spectrum antimicrobial treatment with a narrower antimicrobial therapy. This is done by either changing the pharmacological agent or discontinuing a pharmacological combination according to the patient's microbial culture results.

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2010 Dec - Cardiogenic shock: the role of inflammation [Review]

Shpektor A.; Acute Card Care. 2010 Dec;12(4):115-8.
Cardiogenic shock (CS) is the leading cause of death in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and we badly need new approaches in its treatment. It has been demonstrated that a number of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, CRP, soluble adhesion molecules, complement system etc) are elevated in acute MI complicated by CS....

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2010 Dec - Multiresistant Gram-negative infections: a global perspective [Review]

Ho J, Tambyah PA, Paterson DL.; Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2010 Dec;23(6):546-53.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Multiresistant Gram-negative infections are an increasing problem in hospitals and healthcare facilities worldwide. While much attention has been paid to Gram-positive pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus lately, the importance of Gram-negative nosocomial infections has also been recognized globally.

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2010 Dec - Anaesthetic management of patients with severe sepsis

Eissa D, Carton EG, Buggy DJ.; Br J Anaesth. 2010 Dec;105(6):734-43.
Severe sepsis, a syndrome characterized by systemic inflammation and acute organ dysfunction in response to infection, is a major healthcare problem affecting all age groups throughout the world. Anaesthetists play a central role in the multidisciplinary management of patients with severe sepsis from their initial deterioration at ward level, transfer to the diagnostic imaging suite, and intraoperative management for emergency surgery.

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2010 Nov - Intensive Insulin Therapy in the Neurocritical Care Setting is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes

Graffagnino C, Gurram AR, Kolls B, Olson DM.; Neurocrit Care. 2010 Nov 18.
BACKGROUND:
Studies devoted to intensive glucose control suggested that the intensive insulin therapy (IIT) approach could effectively reduce complications associated with critical illness. A program of IIT with the goal of achieving a blood glucose of 80-120 mg/dL was, therefore, adopted in this study. To explore the impact of this approach in patients admitted to a neurocritical care unit, we compared the short-term outcomes of patients treated before and after our policy change.

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2010 Nov - Association between thyroid function tests at baseline and the outcome of patients with sepsis or septic shock: a systematic review

Angelousi AG, Karageorgopoulos DE, Kapaskelis AM, Falagas ME.; Eur J Endocrinol. 2010 Nov 15.
Introduction. The severity of critical illness is associated with various patterns of thyroid hormone abnormalities. We sought to evaluate whether the outcome of patients with, specifically, sepsis or septic shock is associated with the thyroid function tests obtained at diagnosis or admission in the intensive care unit (ICU).

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2010 Oct 11 - An exploration of factors affecting Hong Kong ICU nurses in providing oral care

Ka Yi Yeung, Ying Yu Chui. Article first published online: 11 OCT 2010. Journal of Clinical Nursing, Volume 19, Issue 21-22, pages 3063–3072, November 2010
Background. The literature shows that evidence-based oral care prevents ventilator-associated pneumonia. Nevertheless, not all intensive care unit nurses provide such care. Although several studies have been undertaken to identify factors that affecting the provision of oral care, none of these studies looked at the situation in Hong Kong.

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2010 Nov - Incidence and risk factors for fatal pulmonary embolism after major trauma: a nested cohort study

Ho KM, Burrell M, Rao S, Baker R.; Br J Anaesth. 2010 Nov;105(5):596-602.
BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism is common after major trauma. Strategies to prevent fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) are widely utilized, but the incidence and risk factors for fatal PE are poorly understood.

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2010 Sep - Time in Recurrent Ventricular Fibrillation and Survival After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Jocelyn Berdowski, Monique ten Haaf, Jan G.P. Tijssen, Fred W. Chapman, and Rudolph W. Koster ; Circulation. 2010;122:1101-1108

Background: Current resuscitation guidelines (2005 guidelines [G2005]) accelerate ventricular fibrillation (VF) recurrence. We investigated whether patients resuscitated under G2005 spend more time in VF and have better survival rates than patients treated under the 2000 guidelines (G2000).

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2010 Oct - Drug-Induced Arrhythmia [Review]

E. Kevin Heist and Jeremy N. Ruskin ; Circulation. 2010;122:1426-1435
 

The purpose of this review is to summarize the available data related to acquired forms of LQTS, with particular focus on drug-related LQTS and proarrhythmia.

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2010 Aug - Intra-arrest transnasal evaporative cooling: a randomized, prehospital, multicenter study (PRINCE: Pre-ROSC IntraNasal Cooling Effectiveness)

Castrén M, Nordberg P, Svensson L, Taccone F, Vincent JL, Desruelles D, et al. ; Circulation. 2010 ;122(7):729-36.

BACKGROUND: Transnasal evaporative cooling has sufficient heat transfer capacity for effective intra-arrest cooling and improves survival in swine. The aim of this study was to determine the safety, feasibility, and cooling efficacy of prehospital transnasal cooling in humans and to explore its effects on neurologically intact survival to hospital discharge.

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2010 Oct - Effect of tracheal tube cuff shape on fluid leakage across the cuff: an in vitro study

Dave MH, Frotzler A, Spielmann N, Madjdpour C, Weiss M.; Br J Anaesth. 2010 Oct;105(4):538-43.
BACKGROUND:
This study compared the fluid leakage in the new 'tapered' shaped against the classic 'cylindrical' shaped tracheal tube cuffs when placed in different sized tracheas.

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2010 Sep 23 - RISK FACTORS FOR DISEASE SEVERITY AMONG HOSPITALISED PATIENTS WITH 2009 PANDEMIC INFLUENZA A (H1N1) IN SPAIN, APRIL – DECEMBER 2009 Surveillance and outbreak reports

P Santa-Olalla Peralta ()1,2, M Cortes-García1,2, M Vicente-Herrero1, C Castrillo-Villamandos1, P Arias-Bohigas1, I Pachon-del Amo1, M J Sierra-Moros1,2, on behalf of the Surveillance Group for New Influenza A(H1N1) Virus Investigation and Control Team in Spain. Eurosurveillance, Volume 15, Issue 38, 23 September 2010
We describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients hospitalised with confirmed 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) in Spain from April to December 2009 and the risk factors associated with a worse outcome (admission to an intensive care unit or death) in adults.

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2010 Sep 20 - Thigh-Length Versus Below-Knee Stockings for Deep Venous Thrombosis Prophylaxis After Stroke: A Randomized Trial

Annals of Internal Medicine. First published September 20, 2010 on annals.org. The CLOTS (Clots in Legs Or sTockings after Stroke) Trial Collaboration*
Background: Graduated compression stockings are widely used for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis. Although below-knee stockings are used more often than thigh-length stockings, no reliable evidence indicates that they are as effective as thigh-length stockings.

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2010 Sep - Postoperative Hyperglycemia and Surgical Site Infection in General Surgery Patients

Ashar Ata, MBBS, MPH; Julia Lee, BS; Sharon L. Bestle, RN; James Desemone, MD; Steven C. Stain, MD. Arch Surg. 2010;145(9):858-864.
Hypothesis Postoperative hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for postoperative surgical site infection (SSI).

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2010 Sep 7 - Variations in the Promoter Region of the Glutaminase Gene and the Development of Hepatic Encephalopathy in Patients With Cirrhosis: A Cohort Study

Manuel Romero-Gómez, MD, PhD; María Jover, PhD; José A. Del Campo, PhD; José L. Royo, PhD; Elena Hoyas, MD; José J. Galán, PhD; Carmina Montoliu, PhD; Eugenia Baccaro, MD; Mónica Guevara, MD, PhD; Juan Córdoba, MD, PhD; Germán Soriano, MD, PhD; José M. Navarro, MD; Carmen Martínez-Sierra, MD, PhD; Lourdes Grande, MD, PhD; Antonio Galindo, MD, PhD; Emilia Mira, PhD; Santos Mañes, PhD; and Agustín Ruiz, MD, PhD. Annals of Int Med, September 7, 2010, vol. 153 no. 5 281-288
Background: Hepatic encephalopathy is a major complication of cirrhosis and is associated with a poor prognosis.

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2010 May - Treatment of hepatic encephalopathy by on-line hemodiafiltration: a case series study

Arata S, Tanaka K, Takayama K, Moriwaki Y, Suzuki N, Sugiyama M, Aoyagi K.; BMC Emerg Med. 2010 May 21;10:10.
BACKGROUND:
It is thought that a good survival rate of patients with acute liver failure can be achieved by establishing an artificial liver support system that reliably compensates liver function until the liver regenerates or a patient undergoes transplantation. We introduced a new artificial liver support system, on-line hemodiafiltration, in patients with acute liver failure.

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2010 Jul - Risk factors for hospitalisation and poor outcome with pandemic A/H1N1 influenza: United Kingdom first wave (May-September 2009).

Nguyen-Van-Tam JS, Openshaw PJ, Hashim A, et al. Thorax. 2010 Jul;65(7):645-51. 
BACKGROUND: During the first wave of pandemic H1N1 influenza in 2009, most cases outside North America occurred in the UK. The clinical characteristics of UK patients hospitalised with pandemic H1N1 infection and risk factors for severe outcome are described.

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