View clinical trials related to Critical Illness.
Filter by:Since December 2019, a new agent, the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus has been rapidly spreading from China to other countries causing an international outbreak of respiratory illnesses named COVID-19. In France, the first cases have been reported at the end of January with more than 60000 cases reported since then. A significant proportion (20-30%) of hospitalized COVID-19 patients will be admitted to intensive care unit. However, few data are available for this special population in France. We conduct a large observational cohort of ICU suspected or proven COVID-19 patients that will enable to describe the initial management of COVID 19 patients admitted to ICU and to identify factors correlated to clinical outcome.
Platelets (PLT), a major and essential constituent of blood, plays an important role in physiological and pathological processes such as coagulation, thrombosis, inflammation and maintenance of vascular endothelial cells the integrity (1). Platelet indices are a group of parameters that are used to measure the total amount of PLTs, PLTs morphology and proliferation kinetics (2). The commonly used PLT indices include PLT count, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT). The MPV refers to the ratio of PCT to PLT count. PDW is numerically equal to the coefficient of PLT volume variation, which is used to describe the dispersion of PLTs volume (3). It is well known that platelet indices have been applied in the diagnosis of hematological system diseases. In recent years, it has been discovered that these indices are related to the severity of illness and patients' prognosis. Reduction in PLT count is an independent risk factor for critically ill patients in intensive care unit (4). In addition, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) System also includes thrombocytopenia as an independent risk factor for mortality (5). In a recent research, it will be reported that MPV will be rising with interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein in septic premature infants. MPV has been used as predictor of many inflammatory diseases as MPV significantly higher on both day 1 and day 3 in neonatal sepsis (6). In addition, in patients with cirrhosis and ascites, elevated PDW and MPV will be accurate diagnostic predictors for ascetic fluid infection (7). MPV and PDW will be used as biomarkers predicting the development of postoperative sepsis in colorectal cancer patient (8). All these evidences indicated that PLT indices will be considered as indicator in a series of diseases (9). Advantages of platelet indices are simple, available, cheap tools and routinely done in the hospital laboratory in all critical ill patients and may be a useful, sensitive tool for diagnosis and monitoring these patients especially in limited resource countries as Egypt. However, whether PLT indices are correlated with procalcitonin in assessment the severity of illness is still under research in septic patients
Inspiratory muscle weakness develops rapidly in ventilated critically ill patients and is associated with adverse outcome, including prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation and mortality. Surprisingly, the effects of critical illness on expiratory muscle function have not been studied. The main expiratory muscles are the abdominal wall muscles, including the external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO) and transversus abdominis muscles (TRA). These muscles are activated when respiratory drive or load increases, which can be during e.g. exercise, diaphragm fatigue, increased airway resistance, or positive airway pressure ventilation. The abdominal wall muscles are also critical for protective reflexes, such as coughing. Reduced abdominal muscles strength may lead to decreased cough function and thus inadequate airway clearance. This will lead to secretion pooling in the lower airways, atelectasis, and ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). Studies have shown that decreased cough function is a risk for weaning failure and (re)hospitalization for respiratory complications. Further, high mortality was found in patients with low peak expiratory flow. Considering the importance of a proper expiratory muscle function in critically ill patients, it is surprising that the prevalence, causes, and functional impact of changes in expiratory abdominal muscles thickness during mechanical ventilation (MV) for critically ill patients are still unknown. Ultrasound is increasingly used in the ICU for the visualization of respiratory muscles. In a recent pilot study the investigators confirmed the feasibility and reliability of using of ultrasound to evaluate both diaphragm and expiratory abdominal muscle thickness in ventilated critically ill patients (manuscript in preparation). Accordingly, the primary aim of the present study is to evaluate the evolution of abdominal expiratory muscle thickness during MV in adult critically ill patients, using ultrasound data.
The burden of antimicrobial resistance is high in ICUs and antibiotic therapy must continue to be used to improve health and save lives. However, the overuse or inappropriate use of antibiotics across the spectrum of healthcare and in the community is a leading cause of preventable antibiotic resistance development. Several achievements in medicine depend on effective antibiotic therapy and we need to preserve antibiotics to protect future generations. ICU physicians should have regularly updated antibiograms in order to guide appropriate decisions about the choice of empirical antibiotics when waiting for culture results. The appropriate selection of empirical antibiotic therapy should be guided by ICU-specific antibiogram.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT), is a common and severe complication of critical illness. Critically ill patients are at high risk of VTE because they combine both general risk factors together with specific ICU risk factors of VTE. Vasopressor administration was found to be an independent risk factor for DVT. certainly explained by reduced absorption of subcutaneous heparin linked to the vasoconstriction of peripheral blood vessels. For critically ill patients, due to the altered pharmacokinetics behavior of unfractionated heparin, continuous intravenous infusion of the low doses of unfractionated heparin has been proposed. Standard prophylaxis with subcutaneous (SC) heparin is less efficient in patients requiring vasopressors. Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response due to an infection. Both inflammatory mediators and coagulation are involved in sepsis. the release of inflammatory mediators such as interleukins and tumor necrosis factor causes damage to the endothelium and activation of coagulation which promotes the inflammatory process. Unfractionated heparin is the most negatively charged biological molecule known, heparin has a strong ability to interfere with the functioning of positively charged molecules. Due to the difference in charges, heparin has been documented to interact with over 100 proteins.57 Interleukins, cytokines, and receptors located on endothelial cells, which are involved in the acute phase response, are positively charged and thus are a reasonable target for the modulating effects of heparin. Heparin has strong anti-inflammatory effects with many possible mechanisms, including binding to cell-surface glycosaminoglycans, preventing leukocyte migration, direct binding to chemokines and cytokines, and inhibition of intracellular NF-kB.
At present, there is no clinical reference data on how much the concentration of calcifediol in the blood increases after supplementing with vitamin D for Taiwanese ICU patients. This study aims to investigate the effects of enteral supplementation of vitamin D in critically ill patients with vitamin D deficiency. The results of the study are expected to provide clinical reference data to intensivists to select adequate dosage of vitamin D supplementation for their patients with vitamin D deficiency. This is a multi-center, randomized clinical trial. ICU patients will receive vitamin D level examination. If the subject's blood calcifediol concentration is less than 20 ng / mL, the subject will be included in this clinical trial. Patients who are suitable to enteral supplement of vitamin D will be randomly divided to group Control (no vitamin D supplement) and group Vitamin D (enteral supplement of 569,600 IU vitamin D). The vitamin D level will be measures at specific time points.
Prospective multi-center phase 2b randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded interventional platform trial of two different pharmacologic therapies (intravenous Vitamin C or intravenous Acetaminophen) for patients with sepsis-induced hypotension or respiratory failure.
The purpose of this case series is to describe the characteristics, organ dysfunction and support and 2 week outcomes of critically ill patients with nCov infection.
This observational study aims to assess the relationship between muscle strength and physical function in critical ill patients. Grip and quadriceps strengths are measured using a standardized protocol of dynamometry. Physical function is assessed using the validated ICU mobility scale.
Admission into a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is a highly stressful experience for child and family. High levels of stress can negatively impact outcomes, yet non-pharmacological interventions to decrease stress in the PICU are severely lacking. This is a prospective, single-arm feasibility trial that will explore the feasibility and acceptability of a music therapy intervention to decrease stress in the PICU among families of children receiving invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation. Objectives: The aims of this study are to: 1) Assess the feasibility of implementing a music therapy intervention in the PICU among children receiving invasive or non-invasive mechanical ventilation; 2) Determine the acceptability of the music therapy intervention in the ICU among caregivers, patients, and pediatric and cardiac ICU staff; 3) Explore the variability in child and caregiver stress outcomes throughout ICU admission. Hypothesis: The music therapy intervention will be feasible, as determined by recruitment, retention, protocol adherence, and data collection rates, and will be acceptable to participants and to PICU staff. Sample: This study will recruit 20 families that include children aged 2 months - 17 years old admitted with an expected length of ICU stay greater than 72 hours. Of these 20 families, the investigators will specifically recruit 10 families whose child is admitted for a hypoxic brain injury. Eligible children are receiving either noninvasive mechanical ventilation (i.e., continuous or bilevel positive airway pressure), invasive mechanical ventilation, or have an established tracheostomy tube and with escalated support settings. One primary caregiver will be enrolled along with the child admitted into the ICU.