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This study examined outcomes in 50,322 patients admitted to the emergency department and later transferred to the ICU during the period from 2000-2003.
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Upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage results in 250,000 hospitalizations and between 15,000 and 30,000 deaths per year in the United States.
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When used in conjunction with clinical and radiographic data, brain natriuretic peptide levels may provide a non-invasive alternative for distinguishing between ARDS and cardiogenic pulmonary edema in patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure.
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Although it is understood that good nutrition is essential for normal immune function, wound healing and maintenance of muscle mass and function, and is likely beneficial for overall recovery from the highly catabolic state of acute critical illness, it is less clear when and how best to deliver adequate nutritional support in practice.
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Stopping statins, even briefly, after stroke or cardiovascular surgery increases vascular complications according to 3 new studies.
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With better immunosuppressive therapy and ICU care, invasive aspergillosis is being encountered more often. Making the diagnosis is challenging, especially in lower-risk patients such as those with COPD and cirrhosis.
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In this study of surgical ICU patients in whom chest tubes were placed percutaneously for pneumothorax or sterile pleural effusion, 21% of the tubes were found on chest CT to be in a fissure, and another 9% were intraparenchymal. Only a minority of the malpositions were described in the official radiology reports.
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Several years ago, the PROWESS trial demonstrated a mortality benefit for drotrecogin alfa [activated] (DrotAA; APC) in patients with severe sepsis, and that this benefit was most pronounced in those at high risk of death (ie, APACHE score > 25 or multi-organ dysfunction).
