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An increased intra-abdominal pressure can result in a manifest abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) with significant organ damage, which is a life-threatening situation associated with a high mortality. Although the etiology is manifold and critically ill patients on the intensive care unit are particularly endangered, the disease is often not diagnosed even though the measurement of bladder pressure is available as a simple and standardized method; however, particularly the early detection of an increased intra-abdominal pressure is decisive in order to prevent the occurrence of a manifest ACS with (multi)organ failure by means of conservative measures. In cases of a conservative refractory situation, decompressive laparotomy is indicated., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Critical care medicine has been a field for Bayesian networks (BNs) application for investigating relationships among failing organs. Criticisms have been raised on using mortality as the only outcome to determine the treatment efficacy. We aimed to develop a dynamic BN model for detecting interrelationships among failing organs and their progression, not predefining outcomes and omitting hierarchization of organ interactions. We collected data from 850 critically ill patients from the national database used in many intensive care units. We considered as nodes the organ failure assessed by a score as recorded daily. We tested several possible DBNs and used the best bootstrapping results for calculating the strength of arcs and directions. The network structure was learned using a hill climbing method. The parameters of the local distributions were fitted with a maximum of the likelihood algorithm. The network that best satisfied the accuracy requirements included 15 nodes, corresponding to 5 variables measured at three times: ICU admission, second and seventh day of ICU stay. From our findings some organ associations had probabilities higher than 50% to arise at ICU admittance or in the following days persisting over time. Our study provided a network model predicting organ failure associations and their evolution over time. This approach has the potential advantage of detecting and comparing the effects of treatments on organ function., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Rationale: The current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan, China, spreads across national and international borders. The overall death rate of COVID-19 pneumonia in the Chinese population was 4%. Objectives: To describe the process of hospitalization and critical care of patients who died of COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: This was a multicenter observational study of 109 decedents with COVID-19 pneumonia from three hospitals in Wuhan. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data were collected and analyzed, and the final date of follow-up was February 24, 2020. Results: The mean age of 109 decedents with COVID-19 pneumonia was 70.7 years, 35 patients (32.1%) were female, and 85 patients (78.0%) suffered from one or more underlying comorbidities. Multiple organ failure, especially respiratory failure and heart failure, appeared in all patients even at the early stage of disease. Overall, the mean time from onset of symptoms to death was 22.3 days. All 109 hospitalized patients needed admission to an intensive care unit (ICU); however, because of limited availability, only 51 (46.8%) could be admitted. The period from hospitalization to death in the ICU group and non-ICU group was 15.9 days (standard deviation = 8.8 d) and 12.5 days (8.6 d, P  = 0.044), respectively. Conclusions: Mortality due to COVID-19 pneumonia was concentrated in patients above the age of 65 years, especially those with major comorbidities. Patients who were admitted to the ICU lived longer than those who were not. Our findings should aid in the recognition and clinical management of such infections, especially with regard to ICU resource allocation.

Objective: The condition of critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED) varies from moment to moment. The aims of this study are to quantify sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) and changes in SOFA scores over time and determine its prognostic impact., Patients and Methods: This is a prospective observational cohort study. We included 269 patients consecutively admitted to the ICU from the ED over 18 months. The SOFA scores at ED admission (ED-SOFA) and ICU admission (ICU-SOFA) were obtained. Relative changes in SOFA scores were calculated as follows: Δ-SOFA=ICU-SOFA-ED-SOFA. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the Δ-SOFA score: (a) Δ-SOFA=0-1; and (b) Δ-SOFA more than or equal to 2., Results: The median ED-SOFA score was two points (interquartile range: 1-4.5) and the Δ-SOFA score was 2 points (interquartile range: 0-3). The Δ-SOFA score was more powerful (area under the curve: 0.81) than the ED-SOFA score (area under the curve: 0.75) in predicting hospital mortality. Sixteen (6%) patients had a Δ-SOFA score less than 0, 116 (43%) patients had a Δ-SOFA=0-1, and 137 (51%) patients had a Δ-SOFA of at least 2 points. The probability of being alive at hospital discharge was 51 and 86.5% in Δ-SOFA of at least 2 and Δ-SOFA=0-1 groups, respectively (P<0.001). Risk factors for an increase of two or more SOFA points were age, cirrhosis, a diagnosis of sepsis, and a prolonged ED stay., Conclusion: SOFA and changes in the SOFA score over time are potentially useful tools for risk stratification when applied to critically ill patients admitted to ICUs from the ED.

This consensus statement is directed to intensivists, hematologists, and oncologists caring for critically ill cancer patients and focuses on the management of these patients.

Introduction: The Sepsis-3 definition provides a change of two or more scores from zero or a known baseline of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) as criteria of sepsis. The aim of this study was to compare the SOFA score and the quick SOFA (qSOFA) to Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) criteria in predictive ability of mortality and organ failure., Methods: A-10year retrospective cohort study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Thailand., Results: A total of 2350 of mixed sepsis patients by Sepsis-2 definition were included. The all-cause hospital mortality rate was 44.5%. Of the total sample, 95.6% (n=2247) of patients met criteria for sepsis under the Sepsis-3 definition. The SOFA score presented the best discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.839. The AUC of SOFA score for hospital mortality was significantly higher than qSOFA (AUC 0.814, P=0.003) and SIRS (AUC 0.587, P<0.0001). Also, the SOFA score had superior performance than other scores for predicting intensive care unit (ICU) mortality and organ failure., Conclusions: The SOFA is a superior prognostic tool for predicting mortality and organ failure than qSOFA and SIRS criteria among sepsis patients admitted to the ICU., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Adjunctive therapies have been proposed for use in at least 5 inflammation pathobiology phenotypes in pediatric sepsis-induced multiple organ failure. This article discusses host-pathogen interaction prototypes to facilitate understanding of the rationale for personalized therapy in these phenotypes. The article discusses the literature on adjunctive antiinflammatory and immune modulation therapies that, in addition to traditional organ support and infection source control, might be part of a personalized precision medicine approach to the reversal of each of these inflammatory pathobiology phenotypes., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe new technologies (biomarkers and tests) used to assess and monitor the severity and progression of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in children as discussed as part of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development MODS Workshop (March 26-27, 2015)., Data Sources: Literature review, research data, and expert opinion., Study Selection: Not applicable., Data Extraction: Moderated by an experienced expert from the field, investigators developing and assessing new technologies to improve the care and understanding of critical illness presented their research and the relevant literature., Data Synthesis: Summary of presentations and discussion supported and supplemented by relevant literature., Conclusions: There are many innovative tools and techniques with the potential application for the assessment and monitoring of severity of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. If the reliability and added value of these candidate technologies can be established, they hold promise to enhance the understanding, monitoring, and perhaps, treatment of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in children.

The multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is highly prevalent among critically ill children both at the time of their admission and throughout their PICU stay. It is associated with a wide variety of clinical conditions and diagnoses. In addition to its prevalence, it is closely associated with mortality, and the risk of death seems to increase as the number of failing organs increases. Thus, preventing the progression or development of organ failure holds promise as a method to improve outcomes for a wide range of critically ill children. However, despite being first described 4 decades ago, much remains to be learned about this syndrome including its triggering events, pathophysiology, and genetic predispositions. In addition, a better understanding of the influence of age and development on its occurrence and severity is needed as neonates and infants seem to be differentially afflicted. In an attempt to begin to address these issues, the Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened experts in the field at a 2-day workshop to discuss this syndrome, identify key knowledge gaps, and consider potential opportunities for future research.

Background: Admission of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) recipients to the intensive care unit (ICU) remains controversial, especially when graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is present., Methods: We performed a retrospective study to assess prognostic factors of survival in all allogeneic SCT recipients admitted to the ICU between 2002 and 2013 in our center which has flexible admission criteria, especially regarding GVHD., Results: Of 349 patients who underwent allogeneic SCT during the study period, 92 patients (26%) were admitted to the ICU. Intensive care unit and hospital discharge rates were 66% and 46%, respectively, whereas 1 year survival was 24%. Acute GVHD, either grade III to IV (30 patients, 33%) or refractory (12 patients, 13%) had a nonsignificant impact on hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 2.1; P = 0.1; OR, 5, P = 0.05, respectively). Fifty percent of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation, 30% required vasopressors, 17% required renal replacement therapy, and 28% had liver impairment (bilirubin >34 μmol/L), each of these parameters defining organ failure. Mortality was closely associated with the number of organ failures as hospital discharge rates were 69%, 50%, 42%, and 0% among patients with 0 (26 patients), 1 (26 patients), 2 (26 patients), and 3 to 4 (14 patients) organ failures, respectively (OR, 2.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-4.6; P < 0.001 according to the number of organ failures)., Conclusions: Early mortality of allogeneic SCT recipients admitted to the ICU is especially influenced by the number of organ failures and therefore patients with 0 to 2 organ failures should be considered if required. Refractory GVHD affects survival but not within the confined ICU admission.

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with persistent inflammation immunosuppression and catabolism syndrome (PICS) in ICU. Methods: A total of 126 patients admitted to ICU (ICU stay of more than 10 days, age≥18 years) between January 2014 to December 2014 were retrospectively studied.Data were collected from electronic medical records including demographics, underlying disease, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ (APACHEⅡ) score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, laboratory parameters, ICU acquired infections and clinical outcome. Results: The overall incidence of PICS in ICU patients (ICU stay of more than 10 days) was 50.0%(63/126). There were no significant differences in baseline data such as gender, age, APACHEⅡscore, SOFA score and underlying diseases between the two groups(all P >0.05). Compared with the non-PICS group, there were more patients with gastrointestinal perforation in the PICS group ( P =0.042), however, the medical or surgical admission did not differ between the two groups( P >0.05). During the stay in ICU, the PICS group showed a higher risk of developing acquired infections compared with the non-PICS group[PICS 63.5%(40/63) vs non-PICS 23.8%(15/63); P <0.001]. The infections were more caused by Candida in the PICS group than the non-PICS group [PICS 22.4%(11/49) vs non-PICS 2/17; P =0.003]. Moreover, the PICS group experienced longer stay in ICU[PICS(31.6±28.8) days vs non-PICS (20.4±11.3) days; P =0.0046] and higher ICU mortality [PICS 28.6%(18/63) vs non-PICS 6.3%(4/63), P =0.001]. Conclusion: PICS is a common manifestation of patients who stay in ICU more than 10 days, which is associated with high risk of ICU acquired infections, prolonged length of stay and high mortality.

Sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is common in the surgical intensive care unit. Sepsis involves infection and the patient's immune response. Timely recognition of sepsis and swift application of evidence-based interventions is critical to the success of therapy. This article reviews the nature of the septic process, existing definitions of sepsis, and current evidence-based treatment strategies for sepsis and MODS. An improved understanding of the process of sepsis and its relation to MODS has resulted in clinical definitions and scoring systems that allow for the quantification of disease severity and guidelines for treatment., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: We used data from a large international database to assess the incidence and impact of extracerebral organ dysfunction on prognosis of patients admitted after cardiac arrest (CA)., Methods: This was a sub-analysis of the Intensive Care Over Nations (ICON) database, which contains data from all adult patients admitted to one of 730 participating intensive care units (ICUs) in 84 countries from 8-18 May 2012, except admissions for routine postoperative surveillance. For this analysis, patients admitted after CA (defined as those with "post-anoxic coma" or "cardiac arrest" as the reason for ICU admission) were included. Data were collected daily in the ICU for a maximum of 28 days; patients were followed up for outcome data until death, hospital discharge, or a maximum of 60 days in-hospital. Favorable neurological outcome was defined as alive at hospital discharge with a last available neurological Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) subscore of 0-2., Results: Among the 469 patients admitted after CA, 250 (53 %) had had out-of-hospital CA; 210 (45 %) patients died in the ICU and 357 (76 %) had an unfavorable neurological outcome. Non-survivors had a higher incidence of renal (43 vs. 16 %), cardiovascular (56 vs. 45 %), and respiratory (62 vs. 48 %) failure on admission and during the ICU stay than survivors (all p < 0.05). Similar results were found for patients with unfavorable vs. favorable neurological outcomes. In multivariable analysis, independent predictors of ICU mortality were renal failure on admission, high admission Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, high maximum serum lactate levels within the first 24 h after ICU admission, and development of sepsis. Independent predictors of unfavorable neurological outcome were mechanical ventilation on admission, high admission SAPS II score, and neurological dysfunction on admission., Conclusions: In this multicenter cohort, extracerebral organ dysfunction was common in CA patients. Renal failure on admission was the only extracerebral organ dysfunction independently associated with higher ICU mortality.

Sepsis is defined as "life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host-response to infection". Presence of organ dysfunction is associated with a mortality of 10% and higher in hospitalized sepsis patients.Introduction of standards in diagnosis and treatment of sepsis in intensive care units has not considerably reduced sepsis mortality. About 80% of patients with sepsis are transferred to intensive care units from usual care wards and emergency departments. Thus, it is tempting to speculate whether opportunities for further improvement of sepsis management exist outside of intensive care units. Performing a "quick sequential organ assessment" (qSOFA; two of following criteria have to be present: respiratory rate >22/min; sytolic blood pressure <100mmHg; altered mental status) supports to identify patients with suspicion of an infection and an increased risk of death within the hospital. Subsequent treatment according to current guidelines on sepsis management will reduce in-hospital mortality of sepsis patients. Indeed, we were able to show a substantial decrease of in-hospital mortality of about 20% in patients presenting with community acquired pneumonia to the emergency department.In summary, decision of further management of sepsis patients has to be done outside intensive care units at the time of initial presentation to professional care givers. Sepsis management in acute care settings should include a structured and standardized protocol to further improve survival in affected patients with even mild organ dysfunction., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Purpose of Review: The current review summarizes different aspects of assessment of gastrointestinal function and provides a practical approach to management of adult patients with gastrointestinal dysfunction in the ICU., Recent Findings: Different ways to define gastrointestinal failure have been used in the past. Recently, the term 'acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI)' has been proposed to specifically describe gastrointestinal dysfunction as a part of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Possible pathophysiological mechanisms and different aspects in assessment of gastrointestinal function in adult ICU patients are presented. Currently, there is no single marker that could reliably describe gastrointestinal dysfunction. Therefore, monitoring and management is still based on complex assessment of different gastrointestinal symptoms and feeding intolerance, even though this approach includes a large amount of subjectivity. The possible role of biomarkers (citrulline, enterohormones, etc.) and additional parameters like intra-abdominal pressure remains to be clarified., Summary: Defining gastrointestinal failure remains challenging but broad consensus needs to be reached and disseminated soon to allow conduct of interventional studies. A systematic approach to management of gastrointestinal problems is recommended.

Acute pancreatitis results in nearly 250,000 admissions annually. Acute pancreatitis varies widely in its clinical presentation. Pancreatic necrosis accounts for substantial additional morbidity, with mortality rates remaining as high as 10% to 20% despite advances in critical care. The extent of necrosis correlates well with the incidence of infected necrosis, multiorgan failure, need for pancreatic debridement, and morbidity and mortality. Having established the diagnosis of pancreatic necrosis, goals of appropriately aggressive resuscitation should be established and adhered to in a multidisciplinary approach involving both medical and surgical critical care., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Liver abscess remains a life-threatening disease, particularly when it results in systemic organ failure necessitating intensive care. Only few cases of respiratory failure caused by liver abscess and treated with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) have been reported. Here we present a case of liver abscess with rapid progression of multiple organ dysfunction, including severe acute respiratory failure on admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Upon admission, we immediately initiated artificial organ support systems, including ventilator, continuous renal replacement therapy, and cardiovascular drug infusion for septic multiple organ failure and source control. Despite this initial management, respiratory failure deteriorated and V-V ECMO was introduced. The case developed abdominal compartment syndrome, for which we performed a bedside decompressive laparotomy in the ICU. The case gradually recovered from multiple organ failure and was discharged from the ICU on day 22 and from the hospital on day 53. Since liver abscess is potentially lethal and respiratory failure on admission is an additional risk factor of mortality, V-V ECMO may serve as an adjunctive choice of artificial organ support for cases of severe acute respiratory failure caused by liver abscess.

Traditionally, renal dysfunction in congestive heart failure (cardiorenal syndrome type 1) has been attributed to reduced cardiac output and low mean arterial perfusion pressure, which elicit a series of neurohumoral activations resulting in increased renal vascular resistance and decreased renal function.During the last decade, several studies have shown that the extent of renal dysfunction is not so closely associated with indices of forward failure-such as the cardiac index or mean arterial pressure-but rather with indicators of congestion, such as left ventricular enddiasystolic pressure or central venous pressure (CVP), which are indicators of backward failure. The impact of backward failure on renal function is not confined to an elevation of CVP, the renal drainage pressure, but includes a broad spectrum of mechanisms. Involved are the organ systems right heart, lung, the liver, the proinflammatory signals originating from the intestines, but also renal interstitial edema (renal compartment syndrome) and the intraabdominal pressure.The therapeutic measures must focus on the modulation of the preload adapted to the specific situation of an individual patient. This includes diuretics aiming at different segments of the tubulus system including antagonists of aldosteron and ADH, extracorporeal fluid elimination by ultrafiltration or peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Renal dysfunction is a common complication of cirrhosis, occurring in approximately 20 % of all hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and associated with increased mortality. In about two thirds of the patients, renal dysfunction is caused by prerenal disorders (e.g. gastrointestinal bleeding, diuretics, bacterial infection); one third is caused by intrarenal diseases (e.g. hepatitis associated glomerulonephritis). In most patients, prerenal failure can be successfully handled by volume therapy. In one third, volume replacement is not effective any more to improve kidney function. This kind of prerenal failure is called hepatorenal syndrome (HRS)., Pathophysiology: The pathophysiology is based on an increased splanchic vasodilation, which cannot be compensated any more by an increased cardiac output. Therefore, patients with cardiac insufficiency are more at risk of developing HRS. The decompensation leads to a stimulation of the baroreceptors with consecutive activation of the sympathetic nerve system, the renin-angiotensin-aldosteron system (RAAS), and nonosmotic release of vasopressin. This results in renal vasoconstriction, which is strengthened by the activation of hepatorenal reflex secondary to an increase in intrahepatic pressure and/or decrease in sinusoidal blood flow., Therapy: Several studies have shown that the vasopressin analogue terlipressin combined with albumin can reverse HRS in up to 50 % of patients. Long-term survival can only be achieved by liver transplantation. Improving kidney function before transplantation improves outcome after transplantation.

Pulmonary-hepatic vascular disorders are frequent complications in patients with portal hypertension and cirrhosis. Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), portopulmonary hypertension (POPH), and hepatic hydrothorax are relevant disease entities in these patients. HPS occurs in up to 30 % of patients with cirrhosis and is associated with a more than 2-fold increased mortality. The diagnosis of HPS should be established early by arterial blood gas analysis and contrast-enhanced echocardiography, whereas POPH is diagnosed by the presence of pulmonary arterial hypertension evaluated via right heart catheterization and the presence of portal hypertension. Therapeutic options include initiation of long-term oxygen therapy and liver transplantation in patients with severe HPS. Patients with POPH should receive targeted medical therapies with endothelin receptor antagonists, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors and/or prostanoids. In contrast, β-blockers should be avoided. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding pulmonary-hepatic vascular disorders, with a focus on HPS.

Acute and acute-on-chronic liver failure are often associated with development of organ failure. Its occurrence is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Extracorporeal replacement therapies are frequently necessary in these patient populations. Replacement therapies can be divided into renal replacement therapies and liver support therapies. These therapies consist of artificial liver support systems (i.e., MARS(®) system, Prometheus(®)), which are able to remove water-soluble and albumin-bound toxins, and of bioartifical liver support systems. This manuscript provides a review of current practice in the extracorporeal support of patients with liver diseases in the intensive care unit.

Objective: To examine the incidence of single or multiple organ failure postburn and its resultant clinical outcomes during acute hospitalization., Background: Patient outcomes are inherently dependent on intact organ function; however, burn injury affects the structure and function of almost every organ, but especially lung, liver, kidney, and heart. Therefore, single-organ failure and/or multiorgan failure (MOF) are thought to contribute significantly to postburn morbidity and mortality, but to date no large trial examining the effects of MOF on postburn outcomes exists., Methods: Incidence of MOF was monitored in 821 pediatric burn patients during acute hospitalization. Patients were divided into groups on the basis of the incidence of single-organ-specific failure, MOF, and non-MOF. The DENVER2 score was used to assess organ-specific scores for lung, liver, kidney, and heart. The patient's demographics, injury characteristics, and outcome parameters were recorded., Results: Respiratory failure has the highest incidence in the early phase of postburn injury and decreases starting 5 days postburn. Cardiac failure was noted to have the highest incidence throughout hospital stay. Incidence of hepatic failure increases with the hospital length of stay and is associated with a high mortality during the late phase of the acute hospital stay. Renal failure has an unexpectedly low incidence but is associated with a high mortality during the first 3 weeks postburn injury. Three or more organ failure is associated with very high mortality., Conclusions: This is the first large study in burn patients to determine the incidence of organ-specific failure and outcome. The results of this study confirmed the expected chronologic incidence of organ-specific failure and yield the long-term mortality from liver and renal failure.

Objective: To develop a scoring system to measure physical morbidity in critical care - the Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment Tool (CPAx)., Method: The development process was iterative involving content validity indices (CVI), a focus group and an observational study of 33 patients to test construct validity against the Medical Research Council score for muscle strength, peak cough flow, Australian Therapy Outcome Measures score, Glasgow Coma Scale score, Bloomsbury sedation score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, Short Form 36 (SF-36) score, days of mechanical ventilation and inter-rater reliability., Participants: Trauma and general critical care patients from two London teaching hospitals., Results: Users of the CPAx felt that it possessed content validity, giving a final CVI of 1.00 (P<0.05). Construct validation data showed moderate to strong significant correlations between the CPAx score and all secondary measures, apart from the mental component of the SF-36 which demonstrated weak correlation with the CPAx score (r=0.024, P=0.720). Reliability testing showed internal consistency of α=0.798 and inter-rater reliability of κ=0.988 (95% confidence interval 0.791 to 1.000) between five raters., Conclusion: This pilot work supports proof of concept of the CPAx as a measure of physical morbidity in the critical care population, and is a cogent argument for further investigation of the scoring system., (Copyright © 2012 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A hypercalcemic crisis is a life-threatening disease with multiorgan failure due to severe hypercalcemia. If left untreated, a hypercalcemic crisis is associated with a very high mortality and requires immediate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Especially a rapid rise to high calcium levels impairs the function of several organ systems and leads to central nervous, renal, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal symptoms. A hypercalcemic crisis is caused in more than 90 % by malignancy or primary hyperparathyreoidism and only in very rare cases by other diseases such as granulomatous diseases or other endocrinological diseases. Causal therapeutic options include an adequate treatment of malignancy and a surgical resection of the adenomatous tissue in primary hyperparathyreoidism. In addition, an adequate supportive therapy to lower calcium levels should be initiated as soon as possible. Rehydration with normal saline is the mainstay of therapy. Additional pharmacological therapies include biphosphonates, loop diuretics, calcitonin, steroids and calcimimetics. Besides classic hemodialysis continous renal replacement therapy with citrate anticoagulation is new therapeutical approach that can be used for the acute reduction of elevated serum calcium levels., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Scoring systems are used in all diagnostic areas of medicine. Several parameters are evaluated and rated with points according to their value in order to simplify a complex clinical situation with a score. The application ranges from the classification of disease severity through determining the number of staff for the intensive care unit (ICU) to the evaluation of new therapies under study conditions. Since the introduction of scoring systems in the 1980's a variety of different score models has been developed. The scoring systems that are employed in intensive care and are discussed in this article can be categorized into prognostic scores, expenses scores and disease-specific scores. Since the introduction of compulsory recording of two scoring systems for accounting in the German diagnosis-related groups (DRG) system, these tools have gained more importance for all intensive care physicians. Problems remain in the valid calculation of scores and interpretation of the results.

Background: Low plasma glutamine concentration is an independent prognostic factor for an unfavourable outcome in the intensive care unit (ICU). Intravenous (i.v.) supplementation with glutamine is reported to improve outcome. In a multi-centric, double-blinded, controlled, randomised, pragmatic clinical trial of i.v. glutamine supplementation for ICU patients, we investigated outcomes regarding sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores and mortality. The hypothesis was that the change in the SOFA score would be improved by glutamine supplementation., Methods: Patients (n=413) given nutrition by an enteral and/or a parenteral route with the aim of providing full nutrition were included within 72 h after ICU admission. Glutamine was supplemented as i.v. l-alanyl-l-glutamine, 0.283 g glutamine/kg body weight/24 h for the entire ICU stay. Placebo was saline in identical bottles. All included patients were considered as intention-to-treat patients. Patients given supplementation for >3 days were considered as predetermined per protocol (PP) patients., Results: There was a lower ICU mortality in the treatment arm as compared with the controls in the PP group, but not at 6 months. For change in the SOFA scores, no differences were seen, 1 (0,3) vs. 2 (0.4), P=0.792, for the glutamine group and the controls, respectively., Conclusion: In summary, a reduced ICU mortality was observed during i.v. glutamine supplementation in the PP group. The pragmatic design of the study makes the results representative for a broad range of ICU patients., (© 2011 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica © 2011 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.)

Propofol is an alkylphenol derivative named 2, 6, diisopropylphenol and is a potent intravenous short-acting hypnotic agent. It is commonly used as sedation, as well as an anesthetic agent in both pediatric and adult patient populations. There have been numerous case reports describing a constellation of findings including metabolic derangements and organ system failures known collectively as propofol infusion syndrome (PRIS). Although there is a high mortality associated with PRIS, the precise mechanism of action has yet to be determined. The best preventive measure for this syndrome is awareness and avoidance of clinical scenarios associated with development of PRIS. There is no established treatment for PRIS; care is primarily supportive in nature and may include the full array of advanced cardiopulmonary support, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). This article reviews the reported cases of PRIS and describes the current understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and treatment options.

Objective: The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score has been recommended for triage during a mass influx of critically ill patients, but it requires laboratory measurement of 4 parameters, which may be impractical with constrained resources. We hypothesized that a modified SOFA (MSOFA) score that requires only 1 laboratory measurement would predict patient outcome as effectively as the SOFA score., Methods: After a retrospective derivation in a prospective observational study in a 24-bed medical, surgical, and trauma intensive care unit, we determined serial SOFA and MSOFA scores on all patients admitted during the 2008 calendar year and compared the ability to predict mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation., Results: A total of 1770 patients (56% male patients) with a 30-day mortality of 10.5% were included in the study. Day 1 SOFA and MSOFA scores performed equally well at predicting mortality with an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.81-.85) and 0.84 (95% confidence interval 0.82-.85), respectively (P = .33 for comparison). Day 3 SOFA and MSOFA predicted mortality for the 828 patients remaining in the intensive care unit with an AUC of 0.78 and 0.79, respectively. Day 5 scores performed less well at predicting mortality. Day 1 SOFA and MSOFA predicted the need for mechanical ventilation on day 3, with an AUC of 0.83 and 0.82, respectively. Mortality for the highest category of SOFA and MSOFA score (>11 points) was 53% and 58%, respectively., Conclusions: The MSOFA predicts mortality as well as the SOFA and is easier to implement in resource-constrained settings, but using either score as a triage tool would exclude many patients who would otherwise survive.

Severity of illness scores are increasingly used in the intensive care environment to help predict outcome, to characterize disease severity and degree of organ dysfunction, to stratify patients for clinical trial enrollment, to assess resource use, and to compare intensive care unit (ICU) performance. This article reviews the most commonly used severity of illness scoring systems and discusses some of their uses and limitations., (Copyright Thieme Medical Publishers.)

Use of mark systems estimation MODS and APACHE II at patients of elderly and senile age with the complicated forms of a stomach ulcer allows objectively to judge weight of a condition of the patient risk of operative treatment and to estimate the probable forecast of disease and mortality.

We describe the clinical features of a patient with near-fatal heat stroke who was admitted to our intensive care unit. A 14-year-old girl became convulsive and hyperthermic when participating in a strenuous hike under direct sunlight in a hilly area in Venezuela on a very hot and humid day. During the following days, she developed multiple organ failure, including neurological impairment, acute renal failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and extensive hepatic and muscle damage. Treatment consisted of ventilatory support, hemodialysis, corticosteroids, and enteral nutrition. This case of multiple organ failure following near-fatal heat stroke illustrates that although there are no specific techniques and measures for the treatment of this condition, intensive care management and conservative strategies can result in patient survival and complete recovery.

The present report highlights the most important papers appearing in Critical Care and other major journals about severe sepsis, the systemic inflammatory response and multiorgan dysfunction over the past year. A number of these clinical and laboratory studies will have a considerable impact on the sepsis research agenda for years to come. The steroid controversy, the debate over tight glycemic control, the colloid versus crystalloid issue, the value of selective decontamination of the digestive tract, the enlarging role of biomarkers, the value of genomics and rapid diagnostic techniques have all been prominently featured in recent publications. Basic research into novel predictive assays, genetic polymorphisms, and new molecular methods to risk-stratify and to determine treatment options for sepsis have occupied much of the Critical Care publications relating to sepsis pathophysiology in 2008. We will attempt to briefly summarize what we consider to be the most significant contributions to the sepsis literature over the last year, and their likely ramifications in the future, for critical care clinicians, clinical investigators and basic researchers alike.

Severe sepsis, defined as inflammation and organ failure due to infection, continues to result in a mortality of approximately 30% despite advances in critical care. Current therapy includes timely administration of antibiotics, source control of infection, aggressive fluid resuscitation, support of failing organs, and use of activated protein C where clinically indicated. Bacterial mediators, including endotoxin and superantigens, as well endogenous proinflammatory cytokines are considered important to the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced organ failure and are being targeted with numerous molecules and removal devices. Additional therapeutic strategies are aimed at restoring the natural anticoagulant levels, blocking deleterious effects of the complement cascade, reversing cytopathic hypoxia, and inhibiting excessive lymphocyte apoptosis. Molecules with pluripotent activity, such as interalpha inhibitor proteins and estrogen-receptor ligands, are also being investigated.

Acute pancreatitis is a dynamic, often progressive disease; 14-20% require intensive care in its severe form due to multiorgan dysfunction and/or failure. This review was created using systematic literature review of articles published on this subject in the last 5 years. The outcome of severe acute pancreatitis is determined by the inflammatory response and multiorgan dysfunction - the prognostic scores (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation, Glasgow Prognostic Index, Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment, Multi Organ Dysfunction Syndrome Scale, Ranson Scale) can be used to determine outcome. Clinical signs (age, coexisting diseases, confusion, obesity) and biochemistry values (serum amylase, lipase, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, creatinine, urea, calcium) have important prognostic roles as well. Early organ failure increases the risk of late abdominal complications and mortality. Intensive care can provide appropriate multi-function patient monitoring which helps in early recognition of complications and appropriate target-controlled treatment. Treatment of severe acute pancreatitis aims at reducing systemic inflammatory response and multiorgan dysfunction and, on the other side, at increasing the anti-inflammatory response. Oral starvation for 24-48 hours is effective in reducing the exocrine activity of the pancreas; the efficacy of protease inhibitors is questionable. Early intravascular volume resuscitation and stable haemodynamics improve microcirculation. Early oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation provide adequate oxygenation. Electrolyte and acid-base control can be as important as tight glucose control. Adequate pain relief can be achieved by thoracic epidural catheterization. Early enteral nutrition with immunonutrition should be used. There is evidence that affecting the coagulation cascade by activated protein C can play a role in reducing the inflammatory response. The complex therapy of acute pancreatitis includes appropriate antibiotics, thrombo-embolic prophylaxis and in certain cases plasmapheresis and/or haemofiltration. Reducing intraabdominal pressure may be necessary in the acute phase. Intensive care multidisciplinary teamwork can reduce the mortality of severe acute pancreatitis from 30% to 10%.

This paper describes an algorithm for identifying ICU patients that are likely to become hemodynamically unstable. The algorithm consists of a set of rules that trigger alerts. Unlike most existing ICU alert mechanisms, it uses data from multiple sources and is often able to identify unstable patients earlier and with more accuracy than alerts based on a single threshold. The rules were generated using a machine learning technique and were tested on retrospective data in the MIMIC II ICU database, yielding a specificity of approximately 0.9 and a sensitivity of 0.6.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiology and outcomes of intra-abdominal hypertension in a heterogeneous intensive care unit population., Design: This was a prospective cohort study., Setting: This study was conducted at a medical-surgical intensive care unit in a university hospital., Patients: Study patients included all those consecutively admitted during 9 months, staying > 24 hrs, and requiring bladder catheterization., Measurements and Main Results: On admission, epidemiologic data and risk factors for intra-abdominal hypertension were studied; then, daily maximal and mean intra-abdominal pressures (IAP(max) and IAP(mean)), abdominal perfusion pressure, fluid balances, filtration gradient, and sequential organ failure assessment score, were registered. IAPs were recorded through a bladder catheter every 6 hrs until death, discharge, or along 7 days. Intra-abdominal hypertension was defined as IAP > or = 12 mm Hg. Abdominal compartment syndrome was defined as IAP > or = 20 mm Hg plus > or = 1 new organ failure. Main outcome measure was hospital mortality. Of 83 patients, considering IAP(max), 31% had intra-abdominal hypertension on admission and another 33% developed it after (23% and 31% with IAP(mean)). Main risk factors were mechanical ventilation, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and fluid resuscitation (relative risk, 5.26, 3.19, and 2.50, respectively). Patients with intra-abdominal hypertension were sicker, had higher mortality (53% vs. 27%, p = .02), and consistently showed higher total and renal sequential organ failure assessment score, daily and cumulative fluid balances, and lower filtration gradient. Nonsurvivors had higher IAP(max), IAP(mean), and fluid balances and lower abdominal perfusion pressure. Abdominal compartment syndrome developed in 12%; 20% survived. Logistic regression identified IAP(max) as an independent predictor of mortality (odds ratio, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.30; p = .003) after adjusting with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and comorbidities (odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.25; p = .001; and odds ratio, 2.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-5.67; p = .013, respectively). Models with IAP(mean) and abdominal perfusion pressure also performed well. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves were .81 and .83., Conclusions: Intra-abdominal hypertension, diagnosed either with IAP(max) or IAP(mean), was frequent and showed an independent association with mortality. Intra-abdominal hypertension was significantly associated with more severe organ failures, particularly renal and respiratory, and a prolonged intensive care unit stay.

The family of natriuretic peptides consists of the atria natriuretic peptide (ANP), the cerebral natriuretic peptide (BNP), the type C natriuretic peptide (CNP) and the peptide isolated from the dendroaspis snakes' poison (DNP), whose presence in humans has not been confirmed. The physiological function of ANP is in the control of arterial blood pressure by regulation of systemic vascular resistance of blood vessels. BNP is produced as one of the factors in the acute response to inflammatory tissue damage, mainly in coronary vessels. Increased serum concentrations of natriuretic peptides have been found in stress situations, such as trauma or major surgery, systemic hypotension, and in intrinsic myocardial dysfunction. High concentrations of natriuretic peptides were observed in severe sepsis, septic shock and in multiple organ failure, probably due to increased secretion by mediators of the inflammatory process.The highest concentrations of ANP and BNP were found in lethal conditions. On admission to ICU, the measurement of natriuretic peptide concentrations could be very helpful in differentiating the etiology of respiratory failure, and for assessment of the severity of ARDS. Quick tests for measurement of natriuretic peptides, so-called the "point of care testing (POCT)" are fast, easy to perform and, not requiring expensive equipment, are relatively cheap. Therefore, the assessment of natriuretic peptide may be used in scoring a patient's clinical status, for precise diagnosis in doubtful situations, and for determining appropriate treatment.

Background: Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) require huge resources because of the dysfunction of several of their vital organs. The heterogeneity and complexity of the ICU patient have generated interest in systems able to measure severity of illness as a method of predicting outcome, comparing quality-of-care and stratification for clinical trials., Methods: By searching Medline and EMBASE for publications describing scoring systems in the ICU, the most frequently used systems, defined as resulting in more than 50 references, are included in this review. Scoring systems belong to one of four classes prognostic, single-organ failure, trauma scores and organ dysfunction (OD). The different systems are described and discussed., Results: Three different prognostic scoring systems, including several versions, four single OD scores and three OD scores, were included in this review., Conclusion: Different forms of scoring systems are frequently used in the ICU. They have become a necessary tool to describe ICU populations and to explain differences in mortality. As there are several pitfalls related to the interpretation of the numbers supplied by the systems, they should not be used without knowledge on the science of severity scoring.

Scoring systems are a fixed element of modern diagnostics and are integrated in the diagnosis-related groups (DRG) billing system as well as quality assurance projects. The ongoing developments require classification according to the terms of use in order to maintain an overview of the numerous systems available. In the area of intensive care medicine scoring systems can be divided into admission scores and progress scores, whereby the scores for daily assessment can be further subdivided into five categories, depending on the target criteria: objective description of the grade of organ dysfunction, progression in intensive care therapy, evaluation of the degree of nursing care, determination of outcome/mortality risk, and grouping of patient collectives for clinical trials. In future developments it will be necessary to generate new strategies to adequately describe the progress of a patient. Not only will mortality be challenged as a target criterion but also the handling of missing data and the simplification of reality by categorization practised so far that can be found in all established scoring systems as far as calculation of predictive values regarding a defined result.