View clinical trials related to Critical Illness.
Filter by:The patients with severe hypernatremia who received conventional treatment are often undertreated. Continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) can effectively remove solute or water from circulation system. Several case reports demonstrated that CVVH could effectively decrease serum sodium concentration of the patients with severe hypernatremia. The use of CVVH for acute severe hypernatremia in critically ill patients could improve patient survival by effectively decreasing the serum sodium concentration to a normal level.
Since critically ill patients are exposed to stressful conditions, the investigators evaluated the effectiveness of a multicomponent program to reduce perceived discomforts in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) .
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a systematic approach to pain assessment in the critically ill patients' outcome The investigators hypothesize that, patients who will undergo systematic pain assessment and they will have their results notified to physicians and nurses, will demonstrate favorable effects on pain intensity, more efficient use of sedatives and analgesics, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, mortality, adverse events and complications, in relation to patients who will receive standard care alone. Moreover it is expected that they will demonstrate altered levels of plasma neuropeptides and biochemical markers in peripheral blood.
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a psycho-cognitive nursing intervention including relaxation, guided imagery, touch and music listening can improve the clinical and psychological outcome of critically ill patients. The investigators hypothesize that, patients who receive the proposed psycho-cognitive nursing intervention will report lower stress, less pain and have altered level of stress neuropeptides in peripheral blood, lower levels of inflammatory molecules, less complications and better self reported lived experience than patients who receive standard care alone.
The purpose of this prospective, non-interventional clinical study is to assess the clinical validity of a number of markers (including Heparin Binding Protein (HBP), Procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), White cell count (WCC) and lactate) for indicating the presence of organ dysfunction, or outcome, of patients with organ dysfunctions following emergency department admission or hospitalization. Secondary objectives are to identify novel putative biomarkers and to identify risk factors for negative long-term effects of acute critical illness The HBP assay is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantitative determination of Heparin Binding Protein in human plasma.
High "on treatment" platelet reactivity is defined as a poor pharmacodynamic response to the administration of acetylsalicylic acid or clopidogrel. acetylsalicylic acid and clopidogrel are drugs commonly used to reduce platelet activity and prevent cardiovascular events. High "on treatment" platelet reactivity is associated with a higher cardiovascular event rate. Ticagrelor and prasugrel, like clopidogrel both P2Y12 inhibitors are effective in treating patients with High "on treatment" platelet reactivity to clopidogrel. Critically ill patients are a unique population with altered pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Gastrointestinal dysmotility with associated altered resorption and impaired microvascular function occur frequently in critically ill patients and may lead to altered resorption of orally administered drugs. The investigators will test a minimum of 100 patients treated with 100mg acetylsalicylic acid per os and 100 patients treated with 75mg clopidogrel per os to calculate the prevalence of high "on treatment" platelet reactivity. 30 patients with high "on treatment" platelet reactivity to acetylsalicylic acid will be randomized to three new treatment groups. In the first group patients will receive 200mg acetylsalicylic acid per os, in the second group 100mg acetylsalicylic acid intravenously and in the third group 81mg chewable acetylsalicylic acid. Each group will contain 10 patients. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics will be reassessed to evaluate the new treatment. 36 patients with high "on treatment" platelet reactivity to clopidogrel will be randomized to receive either an additional loading dose of 600mg clopidogrel (n=24) or to continue normal treatment as a control group (n=12). Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics will be reassessed and those patients, who are tested again to have high "on treatment" platelet reactivity in spite of the additional loading dose, will now be randomized to receive either ticagrelor or prasugrel. The investigators expect about six patients per group. The twelve patients in the control group will continue normal treatment (75mg/day) until the end of the study. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ticagrelor and prasugrel will be assessed. Any patient, who is tested again with high "on treatment" platelet reactivity in spite of receiving prasugrel or ticagrelor, will be finally switched to the opposite drug and a final high "on treatment" platelet reactivity testing will be conducted. 16 patients who are treated with 10mg prasugrel per os will be tested for HTPR and if positively tested will be switched to 2x90mg ticagrelor per os per day. Platelet reactivity will be reassessed to test whether switching the medication benefits the patients.
The purpose of this study is to collect samples of blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord), wound tissue and/or wound fluids, and other body fluids and tissues from people who have been seriously injured or ill. The samples will be used to develop and assess tests and/or tools that doctors can use to decide the best treatment plan for seriously injured or ill military personnel and for civilians. Additonal protocols to use the samples will be submitted as separate protocols.
Many serious illnesses are characterised by a lack of oxygen delivery to the body's tissues. This can be due to problems with the circulation, such as when the heart fails to pump blood efficiently or if the blood pressure is very low, or due to changes in the lungs preventing them from transferring oxygen effectively from the air into the blood. Many of the treatments used in critically ill patients are aimed at improving the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the tissues. These include drugs to increase the blood pressure or make the heart pump more forcibly, blood transfusions to increase the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry, and ventilators (breathing machines) to help the lungs introduce more oxygen into the bloodstream. Decisions to use such treatments are based on a number of factors. One of the most important is an assessment of how much oxygen an individual patient is using at a given time. Whilst it is possible to measure average oxygen consumption over a long period of time in healthy individuals, the equipment and techniques needed are simply not practical for routine use in the clinical setting of a critical care unit. Critical care doctors and nurses therefore have to rely on a number of different indicators of the adequacy of the amount of oxygen that is being provided in order to make decisions about how best to treat patients. Unfortunately, all of these have their limitations, are affected by other treatments patients may be receiving, and can be difficult to interpret. Examples include 'mixed venous oxygen saturation' (SvO2), that is the amount of oxygen in the blood coming back to the lungs from the body, ready to have more oxygen added, and blood lactate levels, which give an indication of whether the tissues have enough oxygen to produce the energy they need to function in an efficient manner. Our group has developed a device which can be added easily to the normal equipment used on a critical care ward when a patient is on a ventilator, which can accurately and rapidly measure the amount of oxygen the individual is consuming. This study will provide us with data so the investigators can define a "normal" range of oxygen consumption in these patients, and treatments which alter consumption. In a future study, once the investigators know what the normal range is, they can introduce new techniques to improve oxygen consumption in those patients whose consumption is less than ideal.
The purpose of this study, in mechanically ventilated septic shock patients, is to determine whether a fluid loading strategy based on parameters derived from the transpulmonary thermodilution technique may lead to more ventilator free days compared to a fluid loading strategy based on the surviving sepsis guidelines.
Primary objective of this study is to measure the change of concentration of faecal bifidobacteria between critically ill patients who receive enteral formula with and without prebiotics during enteral nutrition.Our null hypothesis is that there is no difference in the concentration of faecal bifidobacteria between critically ill patients who receive enteral formula with and without prebiotics during enteral nutrition (EN). Three faecal samples will be taken from the patient. First faecal sample is the first stool after initiation of EN and second sample is taken seven days after the initial sample and the third faecal sample is taken at day 14 after initial sample. Patient will be randomized to receive either of described formula after baseline (first) stool sample is obtained. Patient will be monitored up to 14 days after the initial stool sample is obtained.