The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of using Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score as the predictors of length of stay (LOS) in various surgical intensive care units (ICUs) and to test the hypothesis that the significance of scoring for predicting LOS is greater in specialized surgical ICUs. We scor...

INTRODUCTION: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality seen in the intensive care unit (ICU), and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Critically ill children with bronchiolitis are at risk of developing hyponatremia, due to impaired renal free water excretion and exogenous sources of excess free water intake. We hypothesize that the development of hyponatremia i...

INTRODUCTION Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients despite use of prophylactic anticoagulant therapy. The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence of DVT among medical and surgical ICU patients. METHODS In this cross sectional study, patients older than 18 years who were hospitalized in the ICU of Imam Hosse...

Summary statement: In non-cardiac surgical patients, respiratory failure index and intensivists’ (expert) opinion predicted postoperative mortality and respiratory failure. Intermediate risk patients allocated to postoperative ICU care vs. surgical high intensity care demonstrated increasing lengths of hospital stay. Background: No guidance exists for allocating postoperative ICU resources for ...

The prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) colonization or infection in the hospital setting has increased globally. Many previous studies had analysed the risk factors for acquiring VRE, based on cross-sectional studies or prevalent cases. However, the actual incidence of and risk factors for VRE remain unclear. The present study was conducted in order to clarify the incidence of...

Length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a common outcome measure in randomized trials of ICU interventions. Because many patients die in the ICU, it is difficult to disentangle treatment effects on length of stay from effects on mortality; conventional analyses depend on assumptions that are often unstated and hard to interpret or check. We adapt a proposal from Rosenbaum that addres...

INTRODUCTION The effect of dexmedetomidine on length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and time to extubation is still unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pertinent studies were independently searched in BioMedCentral, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of clinical trials (updated February first 2013). Randomized studies (dexmedetomidine versus any comparator) were included if inclu...

BACKGROUND Critically ill patients frequently experience pain, but assessment rates remain below 40% in mechanically ventilated patients. Whether pain assessment affects patient outcomes is largely unknown. METHODS As part of a prospective cohort study of mechanically ventilated patients who received analgesia on day 2 of their stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), the investigators performe...

INTRODUCTION A stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), although potentially life-saving, may cause considerable discomfort to patients. However, retrospective assessment of discomfort is difficult because recollection of stressful events may be impaired by sedation and severe illness during the ICU stay. This study addresses the following questions. What is the incidence of discomfort reported b...

INTRODUCTION Anemia among the critically ill has been described in patients with short to medium length of stay (LOS) in the intensive care unit (ICU), but it has not been described in long-stay ICU patients. This study was performed to characterize anemia, transfusion, and phlebotomy practices in patients with prolonged ICU LOS. METHODS We conducted a retrospective chart review of consecutiv...