There are several well recognized scoring systems for evaluation and prognostication of critically ill patients. While the APACHE II (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II) scoring system uses a point score based on physiologic parameters, age and previous health status, the SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment) scoring system takes into account the organ failure in critically ...

PURPOSE This study was designed to assess the outcome of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in liver transplantation (LT) recipients with refractory septic shock and predict the prognosis of those cases. METHODS From February 2005 to October 2012, ECMO was used in 8 cases of refractory septic shock. Laboratory values including lactate and total bilirubin level just before starting...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the factors related to the development of systemic complications, mortality and pancreatic necrosis in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. PATIENTS Thirty-nine patients (22.3%) out of 175 patients with acute pancreatitis who were admitted to our center, had an APACHE II score greater than 8; they were classified as having severe acute panc...

BACKGROUND Hyaluronic acid (HA), an extracellular matrix component, is degraded in response to local tissue injury or stress. In various animal models of lung injury, HA has been shown to play a mechanistic role in modulating inflammation and injury. While HA is present in the lungs of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), its relationship to patient outcomes is unknown. M...

Positive fluid balance is a risk factor for mortality in critically ill patients, especially those requiring continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). However, the association between daily fluid balance and various organ impairments remains unclear. This study investigated the impacts of daily fluid balance prior to CRRT on organ dysfunction, as well as mortality in critically ill patients....

Methods Consecutive patients hospitalised to the 12-bed Toxicology and Sepsis Clinic of Riga East Clinical University Hospital with a diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock were enrolled within 24 hours of admission. Baseline carotid to femoral and carotid to radial PWV were determined at enrollment and after 48 hours of initial measurement. Patients showing an improved SOFA score at 48 hou...

BACKGROUND Biomarker could be objective and reliable tools to predict mortality in sepsis. We explored the prognostic utilities of emerging biomarkers in septic patients and questioned whether adding biomarkers to the clinical variables would improve the prediction of mortality in sepsis. METHODS This retrospective study included 157 septic patients (112 patients with sepsis; 45 patients with...

INTRODUCTION There are no universally accepted diagnostic criteria for gastrointestinal failure in critically ill patients. In the present study we tested whether the occurrence of food intolerance (FI) and intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH), combined in a 5-grade scoring system for assessment of gastrointestinal function (the Gastrointestinal Failure [GIF] score), predicts mortality. The progn...

AIMS To assess long-term outcomes and the management of critical left-sided infective endocarditis (IE) and evaluate the impact of surgery. METHODS AND RESULTS Among the 198 patients included prospectively for IE across 33 adult intensive care units (ICU) in France from 1 April 2007 to 1 October 2008, 137 (69%) were dead at a median follow-up time of 59.5 months. Characteristics significantly...