Background: The effect of a liberal red-cell transfusion strategy as compared with a restrictive strategy in patients during the critical care period after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is unclear.
Methods: We randomly assigned critically ill adults with acute aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and anemia to a liberal strategy (mandatory transfusion at a hemoglobin level of ≤10 g per deciliter) or a restrictive strategy (optional transfusion at a hemoglobin level of ≤8 g per deciliter). The primary outcome was an unfavorable neurologic outcome, defined as a score of 4 or higher on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater disability) at 12 months.
Background: The prophylactic use of nimodipine following subarachnoid hemorrhage is a practice established four decades ago when clinical management differed from current and the concept of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia (DCI) was not established. The applicability of the original studies is limited by the fact of not reflecting current practice; by utilising a dichotomised outcome measure such as good neurological outcome versus death and vegetative state; by applying variable dosing regimens and including all causes of poor neurological outcome different than DCI. This study aims to review the available evidence to discuss the ongoing role of nimodipine in contemporaneous clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo investigate the environment and care in the intensive care unit (ICU) and its relationship to patient circadian temperature disruption. 30-day, prospective period prevalence study. 27-bed tertiary ICU.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a heterogeneous condition with a broad spectrum of injury severity, pathophysiological processes and variable outcomes. For moderate-to-severe TBI survivors, recovery is often protracted and outcomes can range from total dependence to full recovery. Despite advances in medical treatment options, prognosis remains largely unchanged.
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