[Quality of life and mortality of patients in intensive care. Indices of quality of life].

Introduction: At present there is no single practical standardized scale for measuring quality of life (QL). Any proposal should include the patient's physical impairment, level of independence, and subjective perception of happiness. We combined three previously published scales to define a quality of life index (QLI) that we propose as a standard quantitative instrument.

[Hospital utilization for acute problems of the elderly. Catalonia, 1982-1990].

Objective: Analyse the total and causal hospital utilization in Catalonia from 1982 to 1990 for the elderly.

Methods: Hospital admissions and the length of stay will be analysed using direct adjusted rates, age specific rates, percentage variation and the corresponding confidence intervals and significance tests.

Results: In population older than 65, male population have a greater hospital utilization and there is an increase in usage of hospitals with age.

A comparison of severity of illness scoring systems for intensive care unit patients: results of a multicenter, multinational study. The European/North American Severity Study Group.

Objective: To compare the performance of three severity of illness scoring systems used commonly for intensive care unit (ICU) patients in a large international data set. The systems analyzed were versions II and III of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) system, versions I and II of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS), and versions I and II of the Mortality Probability Model (MPM), computed at admission and after 24 hrs in the ICU.

Design: A multicenter, multinational cohort study.

Fat embolism syndrome and pulmonary microvascular cytology.

Pulmonary microvascular cytology consists of analysis of capillary blood sampled while a Swan-Ganz catheter is in the wedge position. This technique has proved to be useful in the diagnosis of lymphangitic spread of carcinoma in the lungs and there are case reports of their use in amniotic fluid embolism. Its usefulness in diagnosing fat embolism syndrome has been shown only rarely.

[Malignant Mediterranean boutonneuse fever. Septic shock of unknown origin?].

Mediterranean Botonous Fever (MBF) is an infectious disease which provokes multisystemic vasculitis due to endothelial proliferation of rickettsia conorii. Its incidence, in our environment, has greatly increased during the last years being endemic in many large cities and their surrounding suburbs. In some cases its evolution is specially malignant resulting in septic shock, adult respiratory distress syndrome, and multiorgan failure.

Mortality prediction models in intensive care: acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II and mortality prediction model compared.

Objective: To compare the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) score with the Mortality Prediction Model (MPM).

Design: A prospective study.

Setting: A nine-bed ICU in a 300-bed, nonteaching secondary hospital.