A risk tertiles model for predicting mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: age, plateau pressure, and P(aO(2))/F(IO(2)) at ARDS onset can predict mortality.

Background: Predicting mortality has become a necessary step for selecting patients for clinical trials and defining outcomes. We examined whether stratification by tertiles of respiratory and ventilatory variables at the onset of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) identifies patients with different risks of death in the intensive care unit.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of data from 220 patients included in 2 multicenter prospective independent trials of ARDS patients mechanically ventilated with a lung-protective strategy.

Cefepime and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT): in vitro permeability of two CRRT membranes and pharmacokinetics in four critically ill patients.

Background: Cefepime is a fourth-generation cephalosporin with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative micro-organisms. It is a useful option for treating infections in critically ill patients in intensive care due to its high degree of activity and its tolerability.

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize in vitro the permeability to cefepime of 2 membranes frequently used in continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRTs).