Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation as a Predictor of Mortality After Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Mortality among the small percentage of cardiac surgery patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation is high, but this issue appears to be inadequately addressed in guidelines.

Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of prospective, multi-center, and observational study in Spain including all adults undergoing cardiac surgery in 3 Andalusian hospitals between June 2008 and December 2012.

Results: The study included 3,588 adults with mean ± SD age of 63.

Discrepancies in the RIFLE classification are due to the method used to assess the level of derangement of kidney function.

Purpose: We hypothesized that RIFLE based on creatinine clearance (CrCl) is superior to that based on serum creatinine (sCr) or Cockroft-Gault (C-G) because it is an earlier marker of kidney dysfunction.

Materials And Methods: At day 3 of admission, we compared the RIFLE based on sCr, C-G, and CrCl with 28-day mortality and development of RIFLE-F during intensive care unit stay.

Results: Percentages in the RIFLE levels were similar for the 3 estimates, but the patients included in each level were different; with CrCl as the reference, κ statistic was 0.

[Concordance in critical patients between the equations designed for the calculation of glomerular filtration rate and 24-hour creatinine clearance].

Objective: To study the behavior of the different equations used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) applied to critical care patients compared to the standard method: 24-hour creatinine clearance (24-CrCl).

Design: Retrospective analysis of data base from a previous observational prospective study.

Setting: Polyvalent ICU in a tertiary Hospital.

[Liver transplantation: influence of donor-related factors].

Objective: To detect donor characteristics related to graft function after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Context: Polyvalent intensive care unit.