Tag: infection
Acute Liver Failure: Evidence-Based Evaluation and Management
Although acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare clinical presentation in the ED, it carries a high mortality, morbidity, and resource cost. Across the developing world, the underlying etiology is primarily viral, with hepatitis... read more
Norepinephrine Shortage and Mortality Among Patients With Septic Shock
Drug shortages in the United States are common, but their effect on patient care and outcomes has rarely been reported. This cohort study evaluated whether a national shortage of norepinephrine in the United States in 2011... read more
Candida Bloodstream Infection Under Veno-arterial ECMO Therapy
Cavayas et al. recently described invasive fungal infections in patients under extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry. They found a 1.2% prevalence of Candida... read more
Enteral vs. Parenteral Nutrition in Septic Shock
The strong paradigm of favoring the enteral over the parenteral route in critically ill patients has been challenged. As a consequence, updated guidelines recommend withholding enteral nutrition in patients with uncontrolled... read more
Blood Cultures From Arterial Catheters Reliable for Detection of Bloodstream Infection in PICUs
Cultures of arterial catheter–drawn blood are reliable for the detection of bloodstream infection in PICUs. The study group consisted of 138 patients admitted to the general or cardiac PICU in 2014–2015 who met the following... read more
Microbial Strategies to Reduce Pathogens and Drug Resistance in Clinical Settings
Healthcare‐associated infections (HAIs) are a global concern, affecting all western hospitals, and profoundly impairing the clinical outcome of up to 15% of all hospitalized patients. Persistent microbial contamination... read more
Blood Culture Results Before and After Antimicrobial Administration in Patients With Severe Sepsis
Among patients with severe manifestations of sepsis, initiation of empirical antimicrobial therapy significantly reduces the sensitivity of blood cultures drawn shortly after treatment initiation. Of 3,164 participants... read more
Vitamin D Deficiency in ICU Patients
Vitamin D research has experienced a true hype in all fields of medicine in the last decades. In critical illness, this increased interest has only started 10 years ago. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in... read more
Procalcitonin-Guided Use of Antibiotics for Lower Respiratory Tract Infection
The provision of procalcitonin assay results, along with instructions on their interpretation, to emergency department and hospital-based clinicians did not result in less use of antibiotics than did usual care among patients... read more
Comparison of Diagnostic Accuracy Among Procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, and Interleukin 6 for Blood Culture Positivity in General ICU Patients
Despite various technological advances, it still usually takes at least 24 to 48 h to obtain a blood culture result. The subsequent delays in diagnosis and treatment of infection can negatively impact care in the intensive... read more
How to Optimize the Use of Blood Cultures for the Diagnosis of Bloodstream Infections?
Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a major cause of death in developed countries and the detection of microorganisms is essential in managing patients. Despite major progress has been made to improve identification of microorganisms,... read more
Preventing Surgical Site Infections Related to Abdominal Drains in the ICU
Surgical site infections are significant contributors to health care–associated infections. Nursing interventions may help decrease the incidence of surgical site infections, particularly in regards to the management of... read more
ECMO and Bloodstream Infection in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
The objective of this review is to characterize the risk of bloodstream infection (BSI) and urinary tract infection (UTI) and describe antibiotic use in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) requiring extracorporeal... read more
The Spleen: The Forgotten Organ in AKI of Critical Illness
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an increasing medical burden and is independently associated with mortality. AKI is a common comorbidity in the intensive care unit (ICU), with sepsis-associated AKI seen in almost a quarter of... read more
