A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

The detection of microbial DNA but not cultured bacteria is associated with increased mortality in patients with suspected sepsis-a prospective multi-centre European observational study

OBJECTIVES: Blood culture results inadequately stratify the mortality risk in critically ill patients with sepsis. We sought to establish the prognostic significance of the presence of microbial DNA in the bloodstream of patients hospitalized with suspected sepsis. METHODS: We analysed the data collected during the Rapid Diagnosis of Infections in the Critically Ill (RADICAL) study, which compared a novel culture-independent PCR/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) assay with standard microbiological testing. Patients were eligible for the study if they had suspected sepsis and were either hospitalized or were referred to one of nine intensive care units from six European countries. The blood specimen for PCR/ESI-MS assay was taken along with initial blood culture taken for clinical indications. RESULTS: Of the 616 patients recruited to the RADICAL study, 439 patients had data on outcome, results of the blood culture and PCR/ESI-MS assay available for analysis. Positive blood culture and PCR/ESI-MSI result was found in 13% (56/439) and 40% (177/439) of patients, respectively. Either a positive blood culture (p 0.01) or a positive PCR/ESI-MS (p 0.005) was associated with higher SOFA scores on enrolment to the study. There was no difference in 28-day mortality observed in patients who had either positive or negative blood cultures (35% versus 32%, p 0.74). However, in patients with a positive PCR/ESI-MS assay, mortality was significantly higher in comparison to those with a negative result (42% versus 26%, p 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Presence of microbial DNA in patients with suspected sepsis might define a patient group at higher risk of death

The Usefulness of the Forced Oscillation Technique in the Diagnosis of Bronchial Asthma in Children

The forced oscillation technique (FOT) requires minimal patient cooperation and is useful for children. However, comprehensive values of respiratory impedance at baseline and after the reversibility test have not been definitively confirmed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the basic parameters of FOT reactance (Xrs) and resistance (Rrs) in groups of healthy children and children with controlled and uncontrolled asthma. The second aim was the assessment of the reversibility bronchial test using the forced oscillation method in children with bronchial asthma. Materials and Methods. One hundred and six children aged from 2 to 6 years diagnosed with early-onset controlled or uncontrolled asthma and healthy controls were included in this single-center, prospective, randomized study. All asthmatic patients and healthy controls underwent basic FOT as one measurement according to the recommendation of Resmon Pro FOT. The reversibility test was then performed 15 min after the administration of 200 mcg salbutamol by MDI in all patients. Results. Basic Rrs showed significantly higher mean values in patients with uncontrolled asthma compared to patients with controlled asthma, which were in turn higher than the values for patients in the control group (11.14 ± 1.29 versus 15.71 ± 2.6 versus 9.21 ± 0.98, resp.; p<0.05). The data analysis showed similar relationships in terms of the Xrs between the studied groups (−4.76 ± 1.19 versus −7.31 ± 2.33 versus −2.11 ± 0.48, resp.; p<0.05). According to the changes in the Rrs values, 35 (66%) positive bronchial reversibility tests were obtained in 53 subjects with controlled asthma and in 39 (74%) subjects with uncontrolled asthma. Conclusions. Rrs and Xrs obtained by FOT well-discriminate patients with asthma from healthy children. A bronchial reversibility test involving the use of FOT is valuable for the diagnosis of bronchial asthma

Dielectric Properties of SbSI in the Temperature Range of 292-475 K

Methodology of impedance measurements and ferroelectric hysteresis loops observed in temperature range 292-475 K for antimony sulfoiodide (SbSI) grown from vapour phase are discussed. Temperature dependences of spontaneous polarization and coercive field of SbSI crystals are presented

Optical Properties of SbSI Photonic Crystals

This paper presents optical properties of $SiO_2$ opals infiltrated with SbSI and inverted SbSI opals for the first time. Registered reflectance spectra exhibit Bragg's peaks connected with photonic band gap. Calculated photonic band structure has been compared with experimental results

Desorption of Gasses Induced by Ferroelectric Transition in SbSI Nanowires

For the first time the thermal desorption of $H_2$, $N_2$, $O_2$ and $CO_2$ is presented for antimony sulfoiodide (SbSI) xerogel made up of large quantity nanowires. The desorption has been observed near ferroelectric phase transition established at $T_{c}$=293.0(2) K. The Sievert measurements have shown that the hydrogen uptake is linear function of $H_2$ pressure (when p < 1.1×$10^5$ Pa). The hydrogen storage density in SbSI gel amounted 1.24× $10^{-2}$ wt% (for p = 1.08×$10^5$ Pa at room temperature)

Fabrication of SbSI Photonic Crystals

Semiconducting ferroelectric antimony sulfoiodide (SbSI) photonic crystals were fabricated. The $SiO_{2}$ nanospheres were synthesized and gravity sedimented to obtain opal matrices. These opals were infiltrated with melted SbSI and etched in HF acid to produce inverted SbSI opals