Tag: infection
Is It CHF? Sepsis? Something Else?
A 59-year-old morbidly obese woman with a history of congestive heart failure presented with three days of intermittent chest discomfort. She characterized it as heartburn—a mid-epigastric burning sensation radiating up... read more
Risk of Recurrence After Surviving Severe Sepsis
Risk of recurrence after surviving severe sepsis is substantial regardless of patient characteristics or infection sites. Further research is necessary to find underlying mechanisms for the high risk of recurrence in these... read more
Empiric Antibiotics Tend To Be Prolonged in ICU
Using antibiotics in critically ill patients is very much walking a tightrope. No one wants to miss an infection in a patient who could go downhill quickly, but no one wants to overuse these precious drugs, either.... read more
The Emerging Role of the Microbiota in the ICU
The importance of the intestinal and lung microbiotas is often overlooked on the ICU. Currently, we can explore the microbiome using a vast array of techniques, giving us 'meta' libraries of data, which has allowed researchers... read more
Risk Factors for HAI After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Mechanical ventilation greater than or equal to 3 days, dopamine use, genetic abnormality, and delayed sternal closure were associated with healthcare-associated infections after pediatric cardiac surgery. Since the use of... read more
Sepsis-3, a New Definition. Solutions or New Problems?
Before we can discuss the "Sepsis-3" definitions, we need to look back at the history of Sepsis definitions, and what the rationale was leading the authors to create a new definition. Below is a brief, albeit non-exhaustive,... read more
Delirium a Dreaded Scourge Underdiagnosed in Hospitals
Pain medications, infections, medical illnesses, ventilators, dehydration or withdrawing from alcohol can be risk factors for delirium. Hospitals are one of the biggest culprits. They're noisy, busy and not conducive to getting... read more
When Should Nutritional Support Be Implemented in a Hospitalized Patient?
At the time of admission to the hospital, malnutrition is already present in over 20% of patients. Hospitalized patients are particularly susceptible to developing malnutrition because of increased catabolic states in acute... read more
Evidence for Persistent Immune Suppression in Patients Who Develop Chronic Critical Illness After Sepsis
Many sepsis survivors develop chronic critical illness (CCI) and are assumed to be immunosuppressed, but there is limited clinical evidence to support this. We sought to determine whether the incidence of secondary infections... read more
The long sepsis journey in low- and middle-income countries begins with a first step… but on which road?
Infection and sepsis are among the most frequent acute medical conditions worldwide and result in approximately eight million premature deaths each year, most of which occur in low and lower-middle income countries (LMICs).... read more
Procalcitonin Testing to Guide Antibiotic Therapy in Acute Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract Infections
Is the use of procalcitonin for guiding antibiotic decisions in patients with acute upper and lower respiratory tract infections associated with improved clinical outcomes compared with usual care? Among patients with varying... read more
Improving Survival Rates From Sepsis
Sepsis kills more Australians each year than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Daily, as many as 20,000 people worldwide are thought to die from this deadly disease. Also known as blood poisoning, sepsis is a life-threatening... read more
Phage Treatment of an Aortic Graft Infected with Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
Another phage therapy success. Bacteria-killing Viruses found in a pond knocked out an antibiotic resistant infection. Management of prosthetic vascular graft infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be a significant... read more
Research Aims to Fine-Tune Sepsis Diagnosis
Work designed to improve diagnosis of one of the leading causes of death in children is under way in Brisbane, led by a University of Queensland researcher. Mater Research Institute-UQ Associate Professor Luregn Schlapbach... read more
Incidence of NV-HAP in the United States
Because nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) is understudied, our purpose was to determine the incidence, overall burden, and level of documented pneumonia preventive interventions of NV-HAP in 24 U.S. hospitals.... read more
Sepsis Patients can be Risk Stratified at the Time of Diagnosis
Multicenter Meta-Analysis Reveals Sepsis Patients can be Risk Stratified at the Time of Diagnosis Demonstrating Potential to Improve Critical Care Medicine on a Global Scale. For this study, the team identified a large collection... read more
How The Burn Trauma ICU Eliminated Central Line Infections
Is zero possible? In the case of central line infections, the answer was once no. A CLABSI (central line associated blood stream infection) was once considered a car crash, or an expected inevitability of care. When University... read more
Danger Signals in the ICU
Damage-associated molecular pattern activation and release is an important research for intensive care practitioners. It will add to our understanding of the phase and state of the innate immune response to an insult. Early... read more
On Diagnosing Sepsis
Two years ago, a panel appointed by the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, referred to as a consensus conference, proposed a new definition for sepsis and new diagnostic... read more
Sepsis Incidence: A Population-Based Study
The incidence of sepsis with organ dysfunction is higher than most previous estimates independent of definition. The inclusion of all inpatients started on intravenous antibiotic treatment of sepsis in a population makes... read more
Oral Versus Intravenous Antibiotics for the Treatment Of Bone and Joint Infection
Oral antibiotic therapy is non-inferior to IV therapy when used during the first six weeks in the treatment for bone and joint infection, as assessed by definitive treatment failure within one year of randomisation. These... read more
Predictors, Prevalence, and Outcomes of Early Crystalloid Responsiveness Among Initially Hypotensive Patients With Sepsis and Septic Shock
Two in three hypotensive sepsis patients were responsive to initial fluid resuscitation. Heart failure, hypothermia, immunocompromise, hyperlactemia, and coagulopathy were associated with the refractory phenotype. Fluid resuscitation... read more
