In a study of fluid resuscitation, patients received 6% hydroxyethyl starch (HES; 130/0.4) or saline until ICU discharge or death or for 90 days. There was no significant difference in 90-day ...mortality, although more patients in the HES group received renal-replacement therapy.
The administration of intravenous fluids to increase intravascular volume is a frequent intervention in the intensive care unit (ICU), but the choice of resuscitation fluid remains controversial.
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Globally, 0.9% sodium chloride (saline) is the most commonly used fluid, although colloids are administered as often as crystalloids, and hydroxyethyl starch (HES) is the most frequently used colloid.
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Several studies have questioned the safety of HES in critically ill patients, with particular concern that its use increases the risk of acute kidney injury.
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Most concern has focused on the use of concentrated HES solutions (10%) with a molecular weight of . . .
IMPORTANCE: After severe traumatic brain injury, induction of prophylactic hypothermia has been suggested to be neuroprotective and improve long-term neurologic outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To determine the ...effectiveness of early prophylactic hypothermia compared with normothermic management of patients after severe traumatic brain injury. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The Prophylactic Hypothermia Trial to Lessen Traumatic Brain Injury–Randomized Clinical Trial (POLAR-RCT) was a multicenter randomized trial in 6 countries that recruited 511 patients both out-of-hospital and in emergency departments after severe traumatic brain injury. The first patient was enrolled on December 5, 2010, and the last on November 10, 2017. The final date of follow-up was May 15, 2018. INTERVENTIONS: There were 266 patients randomized to the prophylactic hypothermia group and 245 to normothermic management. Prophylactic hypothermia targeted the early induction of hypothermia (33°C-35°C) for at least 72 hours and up to 7 days if intracranial pressures were elevated, followed by gradual rewarming. Normothermia targeted 37°C, using surface-cooling wraps when required. Temperature was managed in both groups for 7 days. All other care was at the discretion of the treating physician. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was favorable neurologic outcomes or independent living (Glasgow Outcome Scale–Extended score, 5-8 scale range, 1-8) obtained by blinded assessors 6 months after injury. RESULTS: Among 511 patients who were randomized, 500 provided ongoing consent (mean age, 34.5 years SD, 13.4; 402 men 80.2%) and 466 completed the primary outcome evaluation. Hypothermia was initiated rapidly after injury (median, 1.8 hours IQR, 1.0-2.7 hours) and rewarming occurred slowly (median, 22.5 hours IQR, 16-27 hours). Favorable outcomes (Glasgow Outcome Scale–Extended score, 5-8) at 6 months occurred in 117 patients (48.8%) in the hypothermia group and 111 (49.1%) in the normothermia group (risk difference, 0.4% 95% CI, –9.4% to 8.7%; relative risk with hypothermia, 0.99 95% CI, 0.82-1.19; P = .94). In the hypothermia and normothermia groups, the rates of pneumonia were 55.0% vs 51.3%, respectively, and rates of increased intracranial bleeding were 18.1% vs 15.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among patients with severe traumatic brain injury, early prophylactic hypothermia compared with normothermia did not improve neurologic outcomes at 6 months. These findings do not support the use of early prophylactic hypothermia for patients with severe traumatic brain injury. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00987688; Anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN12609000764235
For more than a decade, early treatment of sepsis has been driven by algorithms. In this study conducted predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, the use of algorithm-based treatment was not ...superior to usual care.
Severe sepsis has a reported annual incidence in adults of up to 300 cases per 100,000 population.
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Despite decreasing mortality from sepsis in recent years,
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the risk of death remains high.
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The fundamental principles for the management of sepsis include early recognition, control of the source of infection, appropriate and timely administration of antimicrobial drugs, and resuscitation with intravenous fluids and vasoactive drugs.
Patients presenting to the emergency department account for a large proportion of patients with severe sepsis.
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Reported in-hospital mortality ranges in this subgroup from 20 to 50%.
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In 2001, a proof-of-concept, randomized trial . . .
Background. Beta-lactam antibiotics are a commonly used treatment for severe sepsis, with intermittent bolus dosing standard therapy, despite a strong theoretical rationale for continuous ...administration. The aim of this trial was to determine the clinical and pharmacokinetic differences between continuous and intermittent dosing in patients with severe sepsis. Methods. This was a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial of continuous infusion versus intermittent bolus dosing of piperacillin-tazobactam, meropenem, and ticarcillin-clavulanate conducted in 5 intensive care units across Australia and Hong Kong. The primary pharmacokinetic outcome on treatment analysis was plasma antibiotic concentration above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) on days 3 and 4. The assessed clinical outcomes were clinical response 7–14 days after study drug cessation, ICU-free days at day 28 and hospital survival. Results. Sixty patients were enrolled with 30 patients each allocated to the intervention and control groups. Plasma antibiotic concentrations exceeded the MIC in 82% of patients (18 of 22) in the continuous arm versus 29% (6 of 21) in the intermittent arm (P = .001). Clinical cure was higher in the continuous group (70% vs 43%; P = .037), but ICU-free days (19.5 vs 17 days; P = .14) did not significantly differ between groups. Survival to hospital discharge was 90% in the continuous group versus 80% in the intermittent group (P = .47). Conclusions. Continuous administration of beta-lactam antibiotics achieved higher plasma antibiotic concentrations than intermittent administration with improvement in clinical cure. This study provides a strong rationale for further multicenter trials with sufficient power to identify differences in patient-centered endpoints.
The aim of this study was to develop consensus recommendations on safety parameters for mobilizing adult, mechanically ventilated, intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
A systematic literature review ...was followed by a meeting of 23 multidisciplinary ICU experts to seek consensus regarding the safe mobilization of mechanically ventilated patients.
Safety considerations were summarized in four categories: respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological and other. Consensus was achieved on all criteria for safe mobilization, with the exception being levels of vasoactive agents. Intubation via an endotracheal tube was not a contraindication to early mobilization and a fraction of inspired oxygen less than 0.6 with a percutaneous oxygen saturation more than 90% and a respiratory rate less than 30 breaths/minute were considered safe criteria for in- and out-of-bed mobilization if there were no other contraindications. At an international meeting, 94 multidisciplinary ICU clinicians concurred with the proposed recommendations.
Consensus recommendations regarding safety criteria for mobilization of adult, mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU have the potential to guide ICU rehabilitation whilst minimizing the risk of adverse events.
Researchers, clinicians, policymakers and patients are increasingly interested in questions about therapeutic interventions that are difficult or costly to answer with traditional, free-standing, ...parallel-group randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Examples include scenarios in which there is a desire to compare multiple interventions, to generate separate effect estimates across subgroups of patients with distinct but related conditions or clinical features, or to minimize downtime between trials. In response, researchers have proposed new RCT designs such as adaptive platform trials (APTs), which are able to study multiple interventions in a disease or condition in a perpetual manner, with interventions entering and leaving the platform on the basis of a predefined decision algorithm. APTs offer innovations that could reshape clinical trials, and several APTs are now funded in various disease areas. With the aim of facilitating the use of APTs, here we review common features and issues that arise with such trials, and offer recommendations to promote best practices in their design, conduct, oversight and reporting.
In this study, a consortium of intensive care units (ICUs) in Australia and New Zealand reported their experience with admissions associated with infection with the 2009 H1N1 virus. The overall rate ...of ICU admission was estimated to be 28.7 per million persons, approximately 15 times that in previous years. During the period of peak transmission in communities, the ICU bed-occupancy rate ranged from 8.9 to 19.0%.
A consortium of ICUs in Australia and New Zealand report their experience with admissions associated with infection with the 2009 H1N1 virus.
Infection with the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus emerged in Mexico toward the end of the 2008–2009 influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere. As of September 6, 2009, the World Health Organization had reported over 277,607 laboratory-confirmed cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza, with at least 3205 deaths.
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From June through August 2009, Australia and New Zealand experienced the combined effect of the pandemic and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The reported incidence of infection with the 2009 H1N1 virus during winter in Australia and New Zealand was 8 times that reported for the same period in the United States. . . .
In a randomized trial involving 4000 patients in the ICU who required sedation for mechanical ventilation, dexmedetomidine had no benefit on 90-day mortality as compared with usual care and was ...associated with more adverse events. Additional drugs were required for prescribed sedation levels in the two groups.
To provide an update to the "Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock," last published in 2008.
A consensus committee of 68 international experts ...representing 30 international organizations was convened. Nominal groups were assembled at key international meetings (for those committee members attending the conference). A formal conflict of interest policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. The entire guidelines process was conducted independent of any industry funding. A stand-alone meeting was held for all subgroup heads, co- and vice-chairs, and selected individuals. Teleconferences and electronic-based discussion among subgroups and among the entire committee served as an integral part of the development.
The authors were advised to follow the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system to guide assessment of quality of evidence from high (A) to very low (D) and to determine the strength of recommendations as strong (1) or weak (2). The potential drawbacks of making strong recommendations in the presence of low-quality evidence were emphasized. Some recommendations were ungraded (UG). Recommendations were classified into three groups: 1) those directly targeting severe sepsis; 2) those targeting general care of the critically ill patient and considered high priority in severe sepsis; and 3) pediatric considerations.
Key recommendations and suggestions, listed by category, include: early quantitative resuscitation of the septic patient during the first 6 hrs after recognition (1C); blood cultures before antibiotic therapy (1C); imaging studies performed promptly to confirm a potential source of infection (UG); administration of broad-spectrum antimicrobials therapy within 1 hr of recognition of septic shock (1B) and severe sepsis without septic shock (1C) as the goal of therapy; reassessment of antimicrobial therapy daily for de-escalation, when appropriate (1B); infection source control with attention to the balance of risks and benefits of the chosen method within 12 hrs of diagnosis (1C); initial fluid resuscitation with crystalloid (1B) and consideration of the addition of albumin in patients who continue to require substantial amounts of crystalloid to maintain adequate mean arterial pressure (2C) and the avoidance of hetastarch formulations (1C); initial fluid challenge in patients with sepsis-induced tissue hypoperfusion and suspicion of hypovolemia to achieve a minimum of 30 mL/kg of crystalloids (more rapid administration and greater amounts of fluid may be needed in some patients) (1C); fluid challenge technique continued as long as hemodynamic improvement, as based on either dynamic or static variables (UG); norepinephrine as the first-choice vasopressor to maintain mean arterial pressure ≥ 65 mm Hg (1B); epinephrine when an additional agent is needed to maintain adequate blood pressure (2B); vasopressin (0.03 U/min) can be added to norepinephrine to either raise mean arterial pressure to target or to decrease norepinephrine dose but should not be used as the initial vasopressor (UG); dopamine is not recommended except in highly selected circumstances (2C); dobutamine infusion administered or added to vasopressor in the presence of a) myocardial dysfunction as suggested by elevated cardiac filling pressures and low cardiac output, or b) ongoing signs of hypoperfusion despite achieving adequate intravascular volume and adequate mean arterial pressure (1C); avoiding use of intravenous hydrocortisone in adult septic shock patients if adequate fluid resuscitation and vasopressor therapy are able to restore hemodynamic stability (2C); hemoglobin target of 7-9 g/dL in the absence of tissue hypoperfusion, ischemic coronary artery disease, or acute hemorrhage (1B); low tidal volume (1A) and limitation of inspiratory plateau pressure (1B) for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); application of at least a minimal amount of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in ARDS (1B); higher rather than lower level of PEEP for patients with sepsis-induced moderate or severe ARDS (2C); recruitment maneuvers in sepsis patients with severe refractory hypoxemia due to ARDS (2C); prone positioning in sepsis-induced ARDS patients with a PaO2/FIO2 ratio of ≤ 100 mm Hg in facilities that have experience with such practices (2C); head-of-bed elevation in mechanically ventilated patients unless contraindicated (1B); a conservative fluid strategy for patients with established ARDS who do not have evidence of tissue hypoperfusion (1C); protocols for weaning and sedation (1A); minimizing use of either intermittent bolus sedation or continuous infusion sedation targeting specific titration endpoints (1B); avoidance of neuromuscular blockers if possible in the septic patient without ARDS (1C); a short course of neuromuscular blocker (no longer than 48 hrs) for patients with early ARDS and a Pao2/Fio2 < 150 mm Hg (2C); a protocolized approach to blood glucose management commencing insulin dosing when two consecutive blood glucose levels are > 180 mg/dL, targeting an upper blood glucose ≤ 180 mg/dL (1A); equivalency of continuous veno-venous hemofiltration or intermittent hemodialysis (2B); prophylaxis for deep vein thrombosis (1B); use of stress ulcer prophylaxis to prevent upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with bleeding risk factors (1B); oral or enteral (if necessary) feedings, as tolerated, rather than either complete fasting or provision of only intravenous glucose within the first 48 hrs after a diagnosis of severe sepsis/septic shock (2C); and addressing goals of care, including treatment plans and end-of-life planning (as appropriate) (1B), as early as feasible, but within 72 hrs of intensive care unit admission (2C). Recommendations specific to pediatric severe sepsis include: therapy with face mask oxygen, high flow nasal cannula oxygen, or nasopharyngeal continuous PEEP in the presence of respiratory distress and hypoxemia (2C), use of physical examination therapeutic endpoints such as capillary refill (2C); for septic shock associated with hypovolemia, the use of crystalloids or albumin to deliver a bolus of 20 mL/kg of crystalloids (or albumin equivalent) over 5 to 10 mins (2C); more common use of inotropes and vasodilators for low cardiac output septic shock associated with elevated systemic vascular resistance (2C); and use of hydrocortisone only in children with suspected or proven "absolute"' adrenal insufficiency (2C).
Strong agreement existed among a large cohort of international experts regarding many level 1 recommendations for the best care of patients with severe sepsis. Although a significant number of aspects of care have relatively weak support, evidence-based recommendations regarding the acute management of sepsis and septic shock are the foundation of improved outcomes for this important group of critically ill patients.
A major bottleneck in the study of human liver physiology is the provision of stable liver tissue in sufficient quantity. As a result, current approaches to modelling human drug efficacy and toxicity ...rely heavily on immortalized human and animal cell lines. These models are informative but do possess significant drawbacks. To address the issues presented by those models, researchers have turned to pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). PSCs can be generated from defined genetic backgrounds, are scalable, and capable of differentiation to all the cell types found in the human body, representing an attractive source of somatic cells for in vitro and in vivo endeavours. Although unlimited numbers of somatic cell types can be generated in vitro, their maturation still remains problematic. In order to develop high fidelity PSC-derived liver tissue, it is necessary to better understand the cell microenvironment in vitro including key elements of liver physiology. In vivo a major driver of zonated liver function is the oxygen gradient that exists from periportal to pericentral regions. In this paper, we demonstrate how cell culture conditions for PSC-derived liver sphere systems can be optimised to recapitulate physiologically relevant oxygen gradients by using mathematical modelling. The mathematical model incorporates some often-understated features and mechanisms of traditional spheroid systems such as cell-specific oxygen uptake, media volume, spheroid size, and well dimensions that can lead to a spatially heterogeneous distribution of oxygen. This mathematical modelling approach allows for the calibration and identification of culture conditions required to generate physiologically realistic function within the microtissue through recapitulation of the in vivo microenvironment.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK