Impact of prolonged requirement for insulin on 90-day mortality in critically ill patients without previous diabetic treatments: a post hoc analysis of the CONTROLING randomized control trial.

Background: Stress hyperglycemia can persist during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay and result in prolonged requirement for insulin (PRI). The impact of PRI on ICU patient outcomes is not known. We evaluated the relationship between PRI and Day 90 mortality in ICU patients without previous diabetic treatments.

Transcranial Color Duplex Ultrasound: A Reliable Tool for Cerebral Hemodynamic Assessment in Brain Injuries.

Background: Transcranial color duplex ultrasound (TCCD) is becoming an important tool for cerebral monitoring of brain-injured patients. To date, TCCD reproducibility has been studied in healthy volunteers or patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and its efficiency in many brain injuries has not been proved. Our aim was to evaluate TCCD interobserver agreement in different brain injuries.

De-escalation as part of a global strategy of empiric antibiotherapy management. A retrospective study in a medico-surgical intensive care unit.

Introduction: Most data on de-escalation of empirical antimicrobial therapy has focused on ventilator-associated pneumonia. In this retrospective monocentric study, we evaluated de-escalation as part of a global strategy of empiric antibiotherapy management irrespective of the location and the severity of the infection. The goal of this trial was to assess the application of a de-escalation strategy and the impact in terms of re-escalation, recurrent infection and to identify variables associated with de-escalation.

Conversion of prevalence survey data on nosocomial infections to incidence estimates: a simplified tool for surveillance?

We calculated the incidence of nosocomial infection in 2 intensive care units (ICUs) on the basis of prevalence data recorded from 1997 through 2002 and compared these estimates to cumulative incidences measured in the 2 ICUs during the same period to investigate the feasibility and the reliability of converting prevalence data to incidence estimates. Decreases in the calculated and measured incidences over time in the ICUs were found to be statistically significantly related.