Critical Care Review articles

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Diaphragm dysfunction is common in mechanically ventilated patients and predisposes them to prolonged ventilator dependence and poor clinical outcomes. Mechanical ventilation is a major cause of diaphragm dysfunction in these patients, raising the possibility that diaphragm dysfunction might be prevented if mechanical ventilation can be optimized to avoid diaphragm injury - a concept referred to as diaphragm-protective ventilation. This review surveys the evidence supporting the concept of diaphragm-protective ventilation and introduces potential routes and challenges to pursuing this strategy...

BACKGROUND: Hemodynamic response to prone position (PP) has never been studied in a large series of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The primary aim of this study was to estimate the rate of PP sessions associated with cardiac index improvement. Secondary objective was to describe hemodynamic response to PP and during the shift from PP to supine position. METHODS: The study was a single-center retrospective observational study, performed on ARDS patients, undergoing at least one PP session under monitoring by transpulmonary thermodilution...

In patients with septic shock, the administration of fluids during initial hemodynamic resuscitation remains a major therapeutic challenge. We are faced with many open questions regarding the type, dose and timing of intravenous fluid administration. There are only four major indications for intravenous fluid administration: aside from resuscitation, intravenous fluids have many other uses including maintenance and replacement of total body water and electrolytes, as carriers for medications and for parenteral nutrition...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Predicting neurological recovery in patients who are comatose after cardiac arrest is an important activity during postarrest care, and this prediction can affect survival. As no early test or clinical finding perfectly predicts potential for recovery, guidelines recommend using data from multiple examinations or tests to estimate patient prognosis. RECENT FINDINGS: Studies reported accuracy of initial clinical examination, progression of clinical examination, early (<24 h) brain imaging, electroencephalography (EEG), evoked potentials, later (>24 h) brain imaging, blood markers of brain injury, and cerebral oximetry for predicting good or poor outcome...

Poor synchrony between the delivery of mechanical breaths, the neural respiratory timing, and needs of patients is relatively frequent under mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the different types of dyssynchrony described to date, their mechanism, consequences, and potential management. There is still a long way to get to a comprehensive knowledge and uncertainties remain. Ongoing research and development of monitoring tools are urgently needed to allow a better appraisal of this area in a near future...

The majority of bacteremias do not develop to sepsis: bacteria are cleared from the bloodstream. Oxygen released from erythrocytes and humoral immunity kill bacteria in the bloodstream. Sepsis develops if bacteria are resistant to oxidation and proliferate in erythrocytes. Bacteria provoke oxygen release from erythrocytes to arterial blood. Abundant release of oxygen to the plasma triggers a cascade of events that cause: 1. oxygen delivery failure to cells; 2. oxidation of plasma components that impairs humoral regulation and inactivates immune complexes; 3...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Status epilepticus has a high morbidity and mortality. There are little definitive data to guide management; however, new recent data continue to improve understanding of management options of status epilepticus. This review examines recent advancements regarding the critical care management of status epilepticus. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies support the initial treatment of status epilepticus with early and aggressive benzodiazepine dosing...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Severe ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke is a devastating cerebrovascular disease often demanding critical care. Optimal management of blood pressure (BP) in the acute phase is controversial. The purpose of this review is to display insights from recent studies on BP control in both conditions. RECENT FINDINGS: BP control in acute ischemic stroke has recently been investigated with regard to endovascular recanalizing therapies. Decreases from baseline BP and hypotension during the intervention have been found detrimental...

In patients with acute circulatory failure, the decision to give fluids or not should not be taken lightly. The risk of overzealous fluid administration has been clearly established. Moreover, volume expansion does not always increase cardiac output as one expects. Thus, after the very initial phase and/or if fluid losses are not obvious, predicting fluid responsiveness should be the first step of fluid strategy. For this purpose, the central venous pressure as well as other "static" markers of preload has been used for decades, but they are not reliable...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Severe respiratory failure due to the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) might require rescue therapy measures beyond even extended standard care to ensure adequate oxygenation and survival. This review provides a summary and assessment of treatment options that can be beneficial when the standard approach fails. RECENT FINDINGS: 'Life-threatening' conditions or refractory hypoxemia during mechanical ventilation are more a matter of personal rating than an objective diagnosis based on defined and/or unanimously agreed thresholds that would mandate the use of rescue therapies...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may require sedation in their clinical care. The goals of sedation in ARDS patients are to improve patient comfort and tolerance of supportive and therapeutic measures without contributing to adverse outcomes. This review discusses the current evidence for sedation management in patients with ARDS. RECENT FINDINGS: Deep sedation strategies should be avoided in the care of patients with ARDS because deep sedation has been associated with increased time on mechanical ventilation, longer ICU and hospital length of stay, and higher mortality in critically ill patients...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To summarize existing evidence on definition, epidemiology, mechanisms, risk factors, consequences, outcome and management of diarrhoea in the critically ill. RECENT FINDINGS: In health, diarrhoea is defined as the passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day. In the critically ill, the diagnosis is yet to be formalized and reported prevalence of diarrhoea varies according to the definition used. Recent studies estimate the prevalence between 14 and 21% and describe risk factors for diarrhoea in critically ill patients...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sepsis is a common and frequently fatal condition in which mortality has been consistently linked to increasing organ dysfunction. For example, acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs in 40-50% of septic patients and increases mortality six to eight-fold. However, the mechanisms by which sepsis causes organ dysfunction are not well understood and hence current therapy remains reactive and nonspecific. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies have challenged the previous notion that organ dysfunction is solely secondary to hypoperfusion, by showing, for example, that AKI occurs in the setting of normal or increased renal blood flow; and that it is characterized not by acute tubular necrosis or apoptosis, but rather by heterogeneous areas of colocalized sluggish peritubular blood flow and tubular epithelial cell oxidative stress...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common and is associated with serious short- and long-term complications. Early diagnosis and identification of the underlying aetiology are essential to guide management. In this review, we outline the current definition of AKI and the potential pitfalls, and summarise the existing and future tools to investigate AKI in critically ill patients.

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), defined as nontraumatic bleeding into the brain parenchyma, is the second most common subtype of stroke, with 5.3 million cases and over 3 million deaths reported worldwide in 2010. Case fatality is extremely high (reaching approximately 60 % at 1 year post event). Only 20 % of patients who survive are independent within 6 months. Factors such as chronic hypertension, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and anticoagulation are commonly associated with ICH...

Delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a common diagnosis, with an incidence ranging between 45% and 87%. Delirium represents a significant burden both to the patient and to the health care system, with a 3.2-fold increase in 6-month mortality and annual US health care costs up to $16 billion. In this review, the diagnosis, epidemiology, and risk factors for delirium in the ICU are discussed. The pathophysiology of delirium and evolving prevention and treatment modalities are outlined.

Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are rare but potentially morbid diagnoses. Clinical index of suspicion for these disorders should be raised following massive resuscitation, abdominal wall reconstruction/injury, and in those with space-occupying disorders in the abdomen. Gold standard for diagnosis involves measurement of bladder pressure, with a pressure greater than 12 mm Hg being consistent with IAH and greater than 25 mm Hg being consistent with ACS. Decompressive laparotomy is definitive therapy but paracentesis can be equally therapeutic in properly selected patients...

Acute pancreatitis results in nearly 250,000 admissions annually. Acute pancreatitis varies widely in its clinical presentation. Pancreatic necrosis accounts for substantial additional morbidity, with mortality rates remaining as high as 10% to 20% despite advances in critical care. The extent of necrosis correlates well with the incidence of infected necrosis, multiorgan failure, need for pancreatic debridement, and morbidity and mortality. Having established the diagnosis of pancreatic necrosis, goals of appropriately aggressive resuscitation should be established and adhered to in a multidisciplinary approach involving both medical and surgical critical care...

Colloids have been used in varying capacities throughout the history of formula-based burn resuscitation. There is sound experimental evidence that demonstrates colloids' ability to improve intravascular colloid osmotic pressure, expand intravascular volume, reduce resuscitation requirements, and limit edema in unburned tissue following a major burn. Fresh frozen plasma appears to be a useful and effective immediate burn resuscitation fluid but its benefits must be weighed against its costs, and risks of viral transmission and acute lung injury...

More than 4 decades after the creation of the Brooke and Parkland formulas, burn practitioners still argue about which formula is the best. So it is no surprise that there is no consensus about how to resuscitate a thermally injured patient with a significant comorbidity such as heart failure or cirrhosis or how to resuscitate a patient after an electrical or inhalation injury or a patient whose resuscitation is complicated by renal failure. All of these scenarios share a common theme in that the standard rule book does not apply...