27 research outputs found

    The placement of nasogastric tubes

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    Facteurs contribuant à l'altération de l'aptitude aérobie dans la cirrhose du foie

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    LILLE2-BU Santé-Recherche (593502101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

    Hoover sign

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    Acute delirium in a critically ill patient may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing

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    Acute delirium is a commonly encountered problem in the intensive care unit (ICU), which has a myriad of causes and contributes to poor outcomes. We present the case of an alcoholic critically ill patient who developed prolonged acute ICU delirium wrongly diagnosed as sedation and alcohol withdrawal. Protracted vomiting, swallowing disorders and continuous aspirations prevented him from enteral feeding and discontinuation of mechanical ventilation. After several days, it became clear that the patient had been misdiagnosed. Fortunately, nystagmus and ophthalmoplegia then allowed the recognition of Wernicke’s encephalopathy, confirmed by cerebral MRIs. After thiamine supplementation, his state improved but he was discharged only on day 32. Wernicke’s encephalopathy is an acute reversible neuropsychiatric emergency, which is falsely considered as uncommon, and is largely misdiagnosed, especially in critically ill patients. Thiamine should be systematically given to all critically ill alcoholic patients, especially those with protracted vomiting

    Use of venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide tension difference to guide resuscitation therapy in septic shock

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    International audienceThe mixed venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide (CO2) tension difference [P (v-a) CO2] is the difference between carbon dioxide tension (PCO2) in mixed venous blood (sampled from a pulmonary artery catheter) and the PCO2 in arterial blood. P (v-a) CO2 depends on the cardiac output and the global CO2 production, and on the complex relationship between PCO2 and CO2 content. Experimental and clinical studies support the evidence that P (v-a) CO2 cannot serve as an indicator of tissue hypoxia, and should be regarded as an indicator of the adequacy of venous blood to wash out the total CO2 generated by the peripheral tissues. P (v-a) CO2 can be replaced by the central venous-to-arterial CO2 difference (ΔPCO2), which is calculated from simultaneous sampling of central venous blood from a central vein catheter and arterial blood and, therefore, more easy to obtain at the bedside. Determining the ΔPCO2 during the resuscitation of septic shock patients might be useful when deciding when to continue resuscitation despite a central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) > 70% associated with elevated blood lactate levels. Because high blood lactate levels is not a discriminatory factor in determining the source of that stress, an increased ΔPCO2 (> 6 mmHg) could be used to identify patients who still remain inadequately resuscitated. Monitoring the ΔPCO2 from the beginning of the reanimation of septic shock patients might be a valuable means to evaluate the adequacy of cardiac output in tissue perfusion and, thus, guiding the therapy. In this respect, it can aid to titrate inotropes to adjust oxygen delivery to CO2 production, or to choose between hemoglobin correction or fluid/inotrope infusion in patients with a too low ScvO2 related to metabolic demand. The combination of P (v-a) CO2 or ΔPCO2 with oxygen-derived parameters through the calculation of the P (v-a) CO2 or ΔPCO2/arteriovenous oxygen content difference ratio can detect the presence of global anaerobic metabolism

    Mean systemic filling pressure and venous return to assess the effects of passive leg raising and volume expansion in acute circulatory failure patients: A posthoc analysis of a multi-centre prospective study

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    International audienceBackground: The main aim of the study was to investigate the behaviours of the mean systemic filling pressure (Pmsf), calculated by the mathematical method, and its derived variables of venous return after volume expansion (VE) and passive leg raising (PLR), with analysis according to fluid and PLR responsiveness.Methods: This was a post-hoc analysis of a multicentre prospective study. We included 202 mechanically ventilated patients with acute circulatory failure. Pmsf, dVR (difference between Pmsf and central venous pressure [CVP]), and resistance to venous return (RVR) were calculated before/after PLR and before/after VE. Fluid- and PLR-responsiveness were defined according to the increase in cardiac index (CI) >15% after VE and >10% after PLR, respectively.Results: Pmsf increased significantly after VE and PLR in both fluid and PLR-responder and non-responder groups. In fluid-responder patients, the increase in dVR was significantly higher than in non-responder group (1.5 [IQR:1.0-2.0] vs. 0.3 [IQR:-0.1-0.6] mmHg, p<0.001) because of the larger increase in CVP relative to Pmsf in the non-responder group. The same findings were observed after PLR. RVR significantly decreased only in the fluid-responder and PLR-responder groups after VE and PLR.Conclusions: Venous return, derived from the mathematical model, increased in preload-dependent patients after VE and PLR because of the larger increases in Pmsf relative to CVP and the decreases in RVR. In preload-independent patients, VR did not change because of the larger rise in CVP compared to Pmsf after VE and PLR. These findings agree with the physiological model of circulation described by Guyton

    A comparison between measured and calculated central venous oxygen saturation in critically ill patients.

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    BACKGROUND:Central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) is often used to help to guide resuscitation of critically ill patients. The standard gold technique for ScvO2 measurement is the co-oximetry (Co-oximetry_ScvO2), which is usually incorporated in most recent blood gas analyzers. However, in some hospitals, those machines are not available and only calculated ScvO2 (Calc_ScvO2) is provided. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the agreement between Co-oximetry_ScvO2 and Calc_ScvO2 in a general population of critically ill patients and septic shock patients. METHODS:A total of 100 patients with a central venous catheter were included in the study. One hundred central venous blood samples were collected and analyzed using the same point-of-care blood gas analyzer, which provides both the calculated and measured ScvO2 values. Bland and Altman plot, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), and Cohen's Kappa coefficient were used to assess the agreement between Co-oximetry_ScvO2 and Calc_ScvO2. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the independent explanatory variables of the difference between Co-oximetry_ScvO2 and Calc_ScvO2. RESULTS:In all population, Bland and Altman's analysis showed poor agreement (+4.5 [-7.1, +16.1]%) between the two techniques. The ICC was 0.754 [(95% CI: 0.393-0.880), P< 0.001], and the Cohen's Kappa coefficient, after categorizing the two variables into two groups using a cutoff value of 70%, was 0.470 (P <0.001). In septic shock patients (49%), Bland and Altman's analysis also showed poor agreement (+5.6 [-6.7 to 17.8]%). The ICC was 0.720 [95% CI: 0.222-0.881], and the Cohen's Kappa coefficient was 0.501 (P <0.001). Four independent variables (PcvO2, Co-oximetry_ScvO2, venous pH, and Hb) were found to be associated with the difference between the measured and calculated ScvO2 (adjusted R2 = 0.8, P<0.001), with PcvO2 being the main independent explanatory variable because of its highest absolute standardized coefficient. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curves (AUC) of PcvO2 to predict Co-oximetry_ScvO2 ≥ 70% was 0.911 [95% CI: 0.837-0.959], in all patients, and 0.903 [95% CI: 0.784-0.969], in septic shock patients. The best cutoff value was ≥ 36 mmHg (sensitivity, 88%; specificity, 83%), in all patients, and ≥ 35 mmHg (sensitivity, 94%; specificity, 71%) in septic shock patients. CONCLUSIONS:The discrepancy between the measured and calculated ScvO2 is clinically not acceptable. We do not recommend the use of calculated ScvO2 to guide resuscitation in critically ill patients. In situations where the Co-oximetry technique is not available, relying on PcvO2 to predict the measured ScvO2 value above or below 70% could be an option

    Use of sodium-chloride difference and corrected anion gap as surrogates of Stewart variables in critically ill patients.

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    INTRODUCTION: To investigate whether the difference between sodium and chloride ([Na(+)] - [Cl(-)]) and anion gap corrected for albumin and lactate (AG(corr)) could be used as apparent strong ion difference (SID(app)) and strong ion gap (SIG) surrogates (respectively) in critically ill patients. METHODS: A total of 341 patients were prospectively observed; 161 were allocated to the modeling group, and 180 to the validation group. Simple regression analysis was used to construct a mathematical model between SID(app) and [Na(+)] - [Cl(-)] and between SIG and AG(corr) in the modeling group. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was also measured. The mathematical models were tested in the validation group. RESULTS: in the modeling group, SID(app) and SIG were well predicted by [Na(+)] - [Cl(-)] and AG(corr) (R(2) = 0.973 and 0.96, respectively). Accuracy values of [Na(+)] - [Cl(-)] for the identification of SID(app) acidosis (47.5 mEq/L) were 0.992 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.963-1) and 0.998 (95%CI, 0.972-1), respectively. The accuracy of AG(corr) in revealing SIG acidosis (>8 mEq/L) was 0.974 (95%CI: 0.936-0.993). These results were validated by showing excellent correlations and good agreements between predicted and measured SID(app) and between predicted and measured SIG in the validation group (R(2) = 0.977; bias = 0±1.5 mEq/L and R(2) = 0.96; bias = -0.2±1.8 mEq/L, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: SID(app) and SIG can be substituted by [Na(+)] - [Cl(-)] and by AG(corr) respectively in the diagnosis and management of acid-base disorders in critically ill patients
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