Impact of bedside ultrasound to reduce the incidence of acute renal injury in high-risk surgical patients: a randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether performing bedside ultrasound impacts the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in the immediate postoperative period (POP) of high-risk surgery patients.

Methods: POP patients were randomly assigned to two groups: (i) ultrasound (US) group, in which hemodynamic management was guided with clinical parameters supplemented with the bedside US findings; (ii) control group, hemodynamic management based solely on clinical parameters. Two exams were performed in the first 24 h of admission.

Factors associated with non-invasive mechanical ventilation failure in patients with hematological neoplasia and their association with outcomes.

Background: The usefulness of non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) in oncohematological patients is still a matter of debate.

Aim: To analyze the rate of noninvasive ventilation failure and the main characteristics associated with this endpoint in oncohematological patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF)

Methods: A ventilatory support protocol was developed and implemented before the onset of the study. According to the PaO/FiO (P/F) ratio and clinical judgment, patients received supplementary oxygen therapy, NIMV, or invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).

Use of handgrip dynamometry for diagnosis and prognosis assessment of intensive care unit acquired weakness: A prospective study.

Objectives: To test the agreement between handgrip dynamometry and Medical Research Council (MRC) criteria for the diagnosis of intensive care unit acquired weakness (ICUAW) and to evaluate if dynamometry findings are associated with morbidity and mortality.

Methods: A prospective single center cohort study was conducted in a Brazilian ICU. Adults requiring at least 5 days of critical care were included.

Echocardiographic findings of congenital cardiopathies among fetuses of diabetic pregnant women and their relationship with plasma fructosamine levels.

Objective: To study the occurrence of congenital cardiopathies at echocardiography (CCE) in fetuses whose mothers had preexisting diabetes mellitus (PGDM) and to study the potential of using fructosamine level as a late marker (beyond the first trimester) for CCE.

Methods: A register study covering 91 pregnant women that underwent routine fetal echocardiography ordered due to PGDM. The first dosage of plasma fructosamine found in 65 medical records was analyzed during prenatal care (20.