Influence of dyskalemia at admission and early dyskalemia correction on survival and cardiac events of critically ill patients.

Objectives: Our objectives were (1) to characterize the distribution of serum potassium levels at ICU admission, (2) to examine the relationship between dyskalemia at ICU admission and occurrence of cardiac events, and (3) to study both the association between dyskalemia at ICU admission and dyskalemia correction by day 2 on 28-day mortality.

Design: Inception cohort study from the longitudinal prospective French multicenter OUTCOMEREA database (1999-2014) SETTING: 22 French OUTCOMEREA network ICUs PATIENTS: Patients were classified into six groups according to their serum potassium level at admission: three groups of hypokalemia and three groups of hyperkalemia defined as serious hypokalemia [K+] < 2.5 and serious hyperkalemia [K+] > 7 mmol/L, moderate hypokalemia 2.

Impact of bronchial colonization with Candida spp. on the risk of bacterial ventilator-associated pneumonia in the ICU: the FUNGIBACT prospective cohort study.

Introduction: Respiratory tract Candida spp. colonization is associated with more frequent bacterial ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, this colonization could be causally related to VAP or simply reflect the immune paralysis associated with multiple organ failure.

Infectious complications following heart transplantation in the era of high-priority allocation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Background: Infectious complications are a major cause of morbidity and mortality after heart transplantation (HT). However, the epidemiology and outcomes of these infections in the recent population of adult heart transplant recipients have not been investigated.

Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective study on infectious complications occurring within 180 days following HT on consecutive heart transplant recipients, from January 2011 to June 2015 at Bichat University Hospital in Paris, France.

Complications of intravascular catheters in ICU: definitions, incidence and severity. A randomized controlled trial comparing usual transparent dressings versus new-generation dressings (the ADVANCED study).

Purpose: To describe all post-insertion complications involving most used intravascular access, and to determine whether the use of a new-generation transparent dressing (3M™ IV Advanced) might reduce their number and impact on ICU patient outcomes.

Methods: Patients older than 18, with an expected length of stay ≥48 h and requiring at least one central venous catheter (CVC), arterial catheter (AC), haemodialysis catheter (HDC), pulmonary arterial catheters (PAC) or peripheral venous catheter (PVC) were randomized into two groups: a new-generation transparent dressing, or the hospital's classical transparent dressing, and were followed daily for any infectious and non-infectious complications. Complications were graduated for severity by an independent international multicentre multidisciplinary panel of practitioners using a Delphi process.