Development of the New Kibou® Equipment for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy from Scratch to the Final Configuration.

A new technology has recently appeared in the area of extracorporeal therapies for critically ill patients with acute kidney injury. The International Renal Research Institute of Vicenza was involved from the beginning in the development of a new continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) equipment with peculiar characteristics. We report the overall experience from design of the new machine to its in vitro and in vivo testing.

Effect of heart rate control with esmolol on hemodynamic and clinical outcomes in patients with septic shock: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: β-Blocker therapy may control heart rate and attenuate the deleterious effects of β-adrenergic receptor stimulation in septic shock. However, β-Blockers are not traditionally used for this condition and may worsen cardiovascular decompensation related through negative inotropic and hypotensive effects.

Objective: To investigate the effect of the short-acting β-blocker esmolol in patients with severe septic shock.