BACKGROUND Assessment of a patient's readiness for removal of the endotracheal tube in the ICU is based on respiratory, airway, and neurological measures. However, nearly 20% of patients require reintubation. We created a prediction model for the need for reintubation, which incorporates variables importantly contributing to extubation failure. METHODS This was a cohort study of 2,007 endotra...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to determine predictive factors of mortality after posttraumatic brain injury. METHODS A retrospective study conducted over a 3-year period (1997-1999) involved 437 adult patients with head injury admitted to the intensive care unit of a university hospital in Sfax, Tunisia. Basic demographic, clinical, biologic, and radiologic data were recorded at admission and d...

Background: There was a need for a simple method of predicting the severity of gallstone pancreatitis soon after admission, to guide the clinician for intensive monitoring, or for transfer to a specialist center. Aim: To validate the role of simplified criteria [white blood cell count (WBC) > 14.5 x 10/dl; blood urea nitrogen (BUN) > 12 mg/dl; random blood sugar (RBS) > 150 mg/dl; pulse > 100/m...

OBJECTIVE The aim is to determine SAPS II and APACHE II scores in medical intensive care unit (MICU) patients, to compare them for prediction of patient outcome, and to compare with actual hospital mortality rates for different subgroups of patients. METHODS One hundred and seventy-four patients were included in this analysis over a oneyear period in the MICU, Clinical Center, University of S...

OBJECTIVE To determine if B cell activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family (BAFF) acts as an acute phase reactant and predicts severity of acute pancreatitis. METHODS 40 patients with acute pancreatitis were included in this single center cohort pilot study. Whole blood and serum was analyzed on day of admission and nine consecutive days for BAFF, c-reactive protein (CRP), interle...

INTRODUCTION Cardiac reserve could be defined as the spontaneous magnitude from basal to maximal cardiac power under stress conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of cardiac reserve parameters in resuscitated septic shock patients. METHODS Seventy patients with septic shock were included in a prospective and observational study. Prior to inclusion, patients wer...

Low peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) of amikacin and gentamicin are reported in intensive care unit (ICU) patients after administration of the first dose. The present study aimed to describe the proportion of ICU patients in whom an adequate Cmax was achieved throughout the course of therapy. Septic ICU patients with an indication for intravenous amikacin or gentamicin were eligible for inclus...

BACKGROUND Mortality predictive indexes have not been applied to patients in general wards out of the ICU. METHODS Retrolective study aimed to evaluate the value of mortality prediction indexes in a cohort of 944 non-critical patients. Three indexes were evaluated according to their calibration and discriminative power: the Mortality Probability Model II (MPMII), the Simplified Acute Physiolo...