2009 Nov - Parental views on withdrawing life-sustaining therapies in critically ill children.
Michelson KN, Koogler T, Sullivan C, Ortega Mdel P, Hall E, Frader J.; Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009 Nov;163(11):986-92.
OBJECTIVE: To broaden existing knowledge of pediatric end-of-life decision making by exploring factors described by parents of patients in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) as important/influential if they were to consider withdrawing life-sustaining therapies.
2009 Oct - Chest radiographic and CT findings in novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) infection
Study results suggest that H1N1-associated chest x-ray abnormalities tend to be in the lower lungs and often involve patchy bilateral consolidation.
2009 Oct - Tracheostomy: from insertion to decannulation.
Engels PT, Bagshaw SM, Meier M, Brindley PG.; Can J Surg. 2009 Oct;52(5):427-33.
Tracheostomy is a common surgical procedure, and is increasingly performed in the intensive care unit (ICU) as opposed to the operating room. Procedural knowledge is essential and is therefore outlined in this review.
2009 Oct - The year in burns 2008
Wolf SE.; Burns. 2009 Oct 23.
For 2008, approximately 1200 original burn research articles were published in scientific journals using the English language. This article reviews those with the most impact on burn treatment according to the Editor of one of the major journals (Burns). As in the previous year's review, articles were divided into the following topic areas: epidemiology, wound characterisation, critical care physiology, inhalation injury, infection, metabolism and nutrition, psychological considerations, pain management, rehabilitation, and burn reconstruction. Each selected article is mentioned briefly with editorial comment.
2009 Oct - Acceptability of A/H1N1 vaccination during pandemic phase of influenza A/H1N1 in Hong Kong: population based cross sectional survey
Lau JT, Yeung NC, Choi KC, Cheng MY, Tsui HY, Griffiths S.; BMJ. 2009 Oct 27;339:b4164.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the intention of the Hong Kong general population to take up vaccination against influenza A/H1N1. Setting Cross sectional population based anonymous survey. Participants Random sample of 301 adults interviewed by telephone (response rate 80%).
2009 Oct 22 - Pandemic H1N1 influenza surveillance in Victoria, Australia, 2009
Victoria was the first Australian state to report widespread transmission of pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza. Notifiable laboratory-confirmed influenza and a general practitioner sentinel surveillance system measuring influenza-like illness (ILI), including laboratory confirmation of influenza as the cause of ILI, were used to assess the pandemic.
2009 Oct - Meta-analysis: Ventilation Strategies and Outcomes of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Acute Lung Injury
Background: Trials have provided conflicting results regarding the effect of different ventilatory strategies on the outcomes of patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and acute lung injury.
Purpose: To determine whether ventilation with low tidal volume (VT) and limited airway pressure or higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) improves outcomes for patients with ARDS or acute lung injury.
2009 Aug 14 - Preliminary Report regarding the Use of Selective Sorbents in Complex Cardiac Surgery Patients with Extensive Sepsis and Prolonged Intensive Care Stay
Fig. The Alteco lipopolysaccharide adsorber used in Intensive Care Unit, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong, for abdominal sepsis (Click image to enlarge)
Aims: The purpose of this publication is to evaluate the first experiences with the supplemental use of selective endotoxin adsorption cartridges in the treatment of critically ill patients complicated by severe sepsis after cardiac surgery. Methods: Thirteen patients with Gram-negative sepsis underwent the procedure of selective lipopolysaccharide (LPS) adsorption using Alteco adsorber (group I) or Toraymyxin columns (polymyxin-B-immobilized fiber) (group II).
2009 Sep - Treatment of invasive candidal infections: systematic review and meta-analysis.
2009 Sep - Ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage may decrease the mortality of severe acute pancreatitis.
Photo courtesy of Dr Arthur CW Lau
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) treatment for severe acute pancreatitis compared to conservative and conventional surgical treatments.
2009 Mar - Extracorporeal circulatory systems in the interhospital transfer of critically ill patients: Experience of a single institution
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Critically ill patients with acute circulatory failure cannot be moved to other institutions unless stabilized by mechanical support systems. Extracorporeal heart and lung assist systems are increasingly used as a bridge to end-organ recovery or transplantation, and as an ultimate rescue tool in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
2009 Jan - Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for 59 days without changing the ECMO circuit: a case of Legionella pneumonia
We report the successful use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in a 53-year-old patient with Legionella pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with severe barotraumas. The patient was supported for 59 days without any changes in the ECMO circuit. This is probably the longest support ever reported using the same oxygenator.
2008 Apr - Methods of data collection and analysis for the economic evaluation alongside a national, multi-centre trial in the UK: Conventional ventilation or ECMO for Severe Adult Respiratory Failure (CESAR)
Background
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a technology used in treatment of patients with severe but potentially reversible respiratory failure. A multi-centre randomised controlled trial (CESAR) was funded in the UK to compare care including ECMO with conventional intensive care management. The protocol and funding for the CESAR trial included plans for economic data collection and analysis. Given the high cost of treatment, ECMO is considered an expensive technology for many funding systems. However, conventional treatment for severe respiratory failure is also one of the more costly forms of care in any health system.
2009 Jul - Corticosteroids for the prevention and treatment of post-extubation stridor in neonates, children and adults
BACKGROUND: Post-extubation stridor may prolong length of stay in the intensive care unit, particularly if airway obstruction is severe and re-intubation proves necessary. Some clinicians use corticosteroids to prevent or treat post-extubation stridor, but corticosteroids may be associated with adverse effects ranging from hypertension to hyperglycaemia, so a systematic assessment of the efficacy of this therapy is indicated.
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether corticosteroids are effective in preventing or treating post-extubation stridor in critically ill infants, children, or adults.
2009 Liver transplantation for acute-on-chronic liver failure
PATIENTS AND METHODS: From November 1991 to December 2007, 517 patients underwent liver transplantation at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. Among them, 149 had acute-on-chronic liver failure as defined in the recent Asian Pacific Association for the Study of Liver Consensus Meeting. Their clinical data were reviewed and their survival outcomes were compared with those of patients who underwent liver transplantation for fulminant hepatic failure and for cirrhosis only in the same period.
2009 Delayed endoscopy as a risk factor for in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute variceal hemorrhage
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Risk factors for mortality in acute variceal hemorrhage remain incompletely understood. Whether endoscopy timing is associated with risk of mortality has not been investigated. We aimed to investigate risk factors for in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute variceal hemorrhage, with emphasis on endoscopy timing.