: Cardiogenic shock (CS) remains a critical condition with high mortality rates despite advances in treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of urinary output at various time intervals during CS and its effectiveness as a predictor of 30-day mortality, particularly in comparison to the Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 (SAPS 3). : We conducted a retrospective analysis of 96 patients diagnosed with CS, assessing urinary output at different intervals (0-6 h, 6-12 h, 12-24 h, and 0-24 h) as potential predictors of 30-day mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) initiation at a non-ECMO-capable facility by specialized mobile teams aims for a stabilization prior to center admission, internationally referred to as ECMO retrieval. It is a recommended strategy to avoid primary interhospital transfer of compromised patients with a high risk of life-threatening incidents and potentially death. Deploying the unique skill set of ECMO installation and transportation to an unfamiliar environment, however, adds a further degree of complexity to the demanding fields of both transporting the critically ill and ECMO management itself.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is highly heterogeneous, both in its clinical presentation and in the patient's physiological responses to changes in mechanical ventilator settings, such as PEEP. This study investigates the clinical efficacy of a physiological model-based ventilatory decision support system (DSS) to personalize ventilator therapy in ARDS patients.
Methods: This international, multicenter, randomized, open-label study enrolled patients with ARDS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background: The accuracy of a diagnostic test depends on its intrinsic characteristics and the disease incidence. This study aims to depict post-test probability of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PJP), according to results of PCR and Beta-D-Glucan (BDG) tests in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF).
Materials And Methods: Diagnostic performance of PCR and BDG was extracted from literature.
: Septic shock is a severe condition with high mortality necessitating precise prognostic tools for improved patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the collective predictive value of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 (SAPS-3) and lactate measurements (initial, peak, last, and clearance rates within the first 24 h) in patients with septic shock. Specifically, it sought to determine how these markers enhance predictive accuracy for 28-day mortality beyond SAPS-3 alone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is used in most centers for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) anticoagulation. When standard doses do not achieve desired target values, heparin resistance is reported, most commonly defined as doses of UFH > 35 000 IU/d.
Objectives: To study the incidence of heparin resistance and its association with thromboembolic complications in patients requiring ECMO support.
Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) facilitates the reduction of mechanical ventilation (MV) support in acute respiratory failure. Contrary to increasing evidence regarding its initiation, the optimal timing of VV ECMO weaning in interaction with MV weaning is undetermined. In this retrospective study, 47 patients who received VV ECMO between 2013 and 2021 and survived ≥1 day after ECMO cessation were divided according to their MV status before ECMO removal: 28 patients were classified into an "ECMO weaning during assisted MV/spontaneous breathing" group and 19 into an "ECMO weaning during controlled MV" group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThromb Res
April 2024
Unlabelled: Direct thrombin inhibitors, including argatroban, are increasingly used for anticoagulation during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO). In many centers activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) is used for monitoring, but it can be affected by several confounders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of anticoagulation with argatroban titrated according to diluted thrombin time targets (hemoclot™ assay) compared to anti-Xa guided anticoagulation with unfractionated heparin (UFH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The diagnosis of invasive Candida infection remains challenging because of tests with slow turnaround times or mediocre performance. T2magnetic resonance imaging is a new diagnostic tool. We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of the T2Candida panel (T2) in comparison with blood culture (BC) and the SeptiFast (SF) for the detection of five different Candida species among high-risk intensive care unit patients with suspected candidemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Patients with systemic rheumatic diseases (SRDs) are at risk of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Data concerning these critically ill patients are limited to few retrospective studies.
Methods: This is a single-centre retrospective study of patients with SRDs admitted to an ICU at the Vienna General Hospital between 2012 and 2020.
Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening condition that involves severe cutaneous, respiratory, and cardiovascular symptoms. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is an acquired, widespread activation of coagulation that can be caused by infectious conditions (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) blood is exposed to artificial surfaces, resulting in contact activation of the intrinsic coagulation pathway initiated by coagulation factor XII (FXII). Little is known about the prevalence of acquired FXII-deficiency, especially during ECMO. The primary outcome was the prevalence of acquired FXII-deficiency (FXII activity <60%) during ECMO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Monitoring of blood coagulation is essential in ECMO patients. We investigated the prevalence of lupus anticoagulant (LA) and its association with coagulation testing and hemostaseologic complications in patients treated with ECMO.
Methods: This is a retrospective analysis including adult patients who received ECMO at a medical intensive care unit at the Medical University of Vienna.
The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry captures clinical data and outcomes on patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support across the globe at participating centers. It provides a very unique opportunity to benchmark outcomes and analyze the clinical course to help identify ways of improving patient outcomes. In this review, we summarize select adult ECMO articles published using the ELSO registry over the past 5 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Klin Intensivmed Notfmed
March 2024
Immunotherapies, and in particular checkpoint inhibitors, have revolutionized the treatment of cancer. However, due to their mechanism of action, the activation of the body's own T cells, side effects are frequently associated with these therapies. So-called immune-related adverse events (irAEs) manifest as autoimmunological phenomena, can occur in any organ system, and even lead to severe organ failure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Intensive Care
September 2023
Background: Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is the leading cause of intensive care unit (ICU) admission in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and data on prognostic factors affecting short-term outcome are needed.
Methods: This is a post-hoc analysis of a multicenter, international prospective cohort study on immunocompromised patients with ARF admitted to ICU. We evaluated hospital mortality and associated risk factors in patients with AML and ARF; secondly, we aimed to define specific subgroups within our study population through a cluster analysis.
Background: ICU risk assessment tools, routinely used for predicting population outcomes, are not recommended for evaluating individual risk. The state of health of single patients is mostly subjectively assessed to inform relatives and presumably to decide on treatment decisions. However, little is known how subjective and objective survival estimates compare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCombined advances in haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and intensive care management have improved the survival of patients with haematological malignancies admitted to the intensive care unit. In cases of refractory respiratory failure or refractory cardiac failure, these advances have led to a renewed interest in advanced life support therapies, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), previously considered inappropriate for these patients due to their poor prognosis. Given the scarcity of evidence-based guidelines on the use of ECMO in patients receiving HCT and the need to provide equitable and sustainable access to ECMO, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization, and the International ECMO Network aimed to develop an expert consensus statement on the use of ECMO in adult patients receiving HCT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To inform future research and practice, we aimed to investigate the outcomes of patients who received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to different variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: This retrospective study included consecutive adult patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who received ECMO for ARDS in 21 experienced ECMO centres in eight European countries (Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) between Jan 1, 2020, and Sept 30, 2021. We collected data on patient characteristics, clinical status, and management before and after the initiation of ECMO.
Chronic graft-vs-host-disease (cGvHD) is the most relevant long-term complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with major impact on non-relapse mortality, but data on intensive care unit (ICU) outcome are missing. In this retrospective, multicenter study we analyzed 174 adult HSCT recipients with cGvHD requiring intensive care treatment. Skin, pulmonary, liver, and intestinal involvement were present in 76.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLancet Respir Med
February 2023