Cancer patients account for 15% of all admissions to intensive care unit (ICU) and 5% will experience a critical illness resulting in ICU admission. Mortality rates have decreased during the last decades because of new anticancer therapies and advanced organ support methods. Since early critical care and organ support is associated with improved survival, timely identification of the onset of clinical signs indicating critical illness is crucial to avoid delaying.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) is a significant global health problem disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Management of intracranial hypertension in sTBI is crucial to survival and optimal recovery. Practitioners in high-income countries routinely use intracranial pressure (ICP) monitors although their usefulness has been questioned.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnaesthesiol Intensive Ther
November 2018
Background: The decision to re-operate after abdominal surgery is still difficult, especially in the setting of intraabdominal sepsis. Mathematical models provide a good aid to both diagnosis and decision-making.
Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted with 300 patients consecutively admitted to the intensive care unit of an academic institution affiliated to Calixto García Medical Faculty following abdominal surgery from January 2008 to January 2010.
Background: Mechanical ventilation (MV) is considered a predisposing factor for increased intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), especially when positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is applied or in the presence of auto-PEEP. So far, no prospective data exists on the effect of MV on IAP. The study aims to look on the effects of MV on IAP in a group of critically ill patients with no other risk factors for intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the World Society for Abdominal Compartment Syndrome in its guidelines recommends midaxillary line (MAL) as zero reference level in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measurements in aiming at standardizing the technique, evidence supporting this suggestion is scarce. The aim of this study is to study if the zero reference position influences bladder pressure measurements as estimate for IAP.
Methods: The IAP of 100 surgical patients was measured during the first 24 h of admission to the surgical intensive care unit of General Calixto Garcia Hospital in Havana (Cuba) following laparotomy.