Publications by authors named "T Karvunidis"

Progress in the management of critical care syndromes such as sepsis, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and trauma has slowed over the last two decades, limited by the inherent heterogeneity within syndromic illnesses. Numerous immune endotypes have been proposed in sepsis and critical care, however the overlap of the endotypes is unclear, limiting clinical translation. The SUBSPACE consortium is an international consortium that aims to advance precision medicine through the sharing of transcriptomic data.

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Almost a quarter of a millennium after the discovery of an acidic substance in sour milk by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele and more than 100 years after the demonstration of a tight connection between this lactic acid and tissue hypoxia in shock, we are still surrounded by false beliefs and misunderstandings regarding this fascinating molecule. Common perceptions of lactate, the conjugate base of lactic acid, as a plain waste product of anaerobic metabolism and a marker of cellular distress could not be further from the truth. Lactate is formed and utilized continuously by our cells, even under fully aerobic conditions, in large quantities, and although marked hyperlactatemia is always a red flag in our patients, not all these conditions are life-threatening and vice versa-not all critically ill patients have hyperlactatemia.

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Multimorbidity - the simultaneous presence of several chronic diseases - is very common in the critically ill patients. Its prevalence is roughly 40-85 % and continues to increase further. Certain chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, chronic heart, pulmonary, liver or kidney disease and malignancy are associated with higher risk of developing serious acute complications and therefore the possible need for intensive care.

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Purpose: To assess long-term outcomes of restrictive versus standard intravenous (IV) fluid therapy in adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients with septic shock included in the European Conservative versus Liberal Approach to Fluid Therapy in Septic Shock in Intensive Care (CLASSIC) trial.

Methods: We conducted the pre-planned analyses of mortality, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using EuroQol (EQ)-5D-5L index values and EQ visual analogue scale (VAS), and cognitive function using Mini Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Mini MoCA) test at 1 year. Deceased patients were assigned numerical zero for HRQoL as a state equal to death and zero for cognitive function outcomes as worst possible score, and we used multiple imputation for missing data on HRQoL and cognitive function.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sepsis is a serious global health issue linked to high mortality rates, caused by an improper immune response to infection, and can be monitored through biomarkers like procalcitonin (PCT), which can rise dramatically during severe cases.
  • Researchers developed a fast detection method for PCT using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry with specialized immuno MALDI chips, validating it against a well-known procedure (LC-MS).
  • The new MALDI method successfully detected PCT in serum samples from sepsis patients, identifying not only the intact PCT but also breakdown products, indicating processing of the protein during severe infections.
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