OBJECTIVES Preliminary data suggest that antibiotic discontinuation in patients with negative quantitative bronchoscopy and symptom resolution will not increase mortality. Because our hospital algorithm for antibiotic discontinuation rules out ventilator-associated pneumonia in the setting of negative quantitative bronchoscopy cultures, we compared antibiotic utilization and mortality in empiri...

OBJECTIVES Solid-organ transplant recipients may require percutaneous dilational tracheotomy because of prolonged mechanical ventilation or airway issues, but data regarding its safety and effectiveness in solid-organ transplant recipients are scarce. Here, we evaluated the safety, effectiveness, and benefits in terms of lung mechanics, complications, and patient comfort of percutaneous dilatio...

Sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a major cause of death in patients admitted to intensive care units. Endothelial injury with microparticle production is reported in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Endothelial microparticles (EMPs) present several cell-specific surface antigens with different bioactivities, for example, tissue factor (TF), thrombomodulin (TM), and endo...

BACKGROUND Sepsis is the leading cause of death in Intensive Care Units. Novel sepsis biomarkers and targets for treatment are needed to improve mortality from sepsis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been used as finger prints for sepsis, and our goal in this prospective study was to investigate if serum miRNAs identified in genome-wide scans could predict sepsis mortality. METHODOLOGY/PRINC...

BACKGROUND Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is an acute and life-threatening complication in diabetic patients. The current diagnostic criteria of DKA are metabolic acidosis, blood glucose level greater than 250 mg/dL and the presence of ketones in serum or urine. DKA patients referring to the emergency department (ED) are usually ill. OBJECTIVES The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of ...

Abstract Background Blood glucose variability is associated with poor prognosis after cardiac surgery, but the relationship between and postoperative delirium in patients acute aortic dissection unclear. The study aims to investigate association of blood patients. Methods We prospectively analyzed 257 including 103 delirium. were divided into two groups according whether was present. outcome me...

Turley and Gedney claim that the cardiac troponin Ic level is a predictor of adverse outcome [1] and that their results support those of King and colleagues [2]. Unfortunately, King and colleagues were unable to demonstrate a link between the troponin Ic level and mortality when using a multivariate model including the Acute Physiology Age and Chronic Health Evaluation II score. Interpretation ...

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...