The need to know: experiences of critically ill patients

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
JE Hupcey ◽  
HE Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critical Illness ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Nursing Staff ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
The Past ◽  
Intensive Care Unit Nurses ◽  
Vivid Memories

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients vary in their memories of their experience in the intensive care unit. Some have little recall and need to learn about their critical illness. Others have more vivid memories of their experiences, some of which were extremely unpleasant. Patients' not knowing what was happening may have exacerbated the unpleasant experiences. OBJECTIVES: To elicit the experience of knowing for critically ill patients and to explore the differences in perceptions between patients who were intubated and those who were not intubated during the illness. METHODS: Grounded theory was used to explore the meaning of knowing and not knowing and the process by which knowing occurs. Unstructured interviews were done with 14 patients. RESULTS: Knowing had 2 phases: the need to know (1) during and (2) after the critical illness. The first phase had 3 facets: needing information, needing to be oriented, and having confusing perceptions. The second phase had 2 facets: needing information about what had happened and piecing together events. Many experiences with knowing during and after a critical illness were similar for both intubated and nonintubated patients. The main difference was the intensity of the experience in some categories. CONCLUSIONS: Critically ill patients have a strong need to know throughout and after their time in the intensive care unit. Nurses must address this need for constant reorientation to the past and present in these patients. In addition, adequate nursing staff must be available for these patients.

Myopathy and Neuropathy Acquired in the Intensive Care Unit

2019 ◽  
pp. 677-684
Author(s):  
Priya S. Dhawan ◽  
Jennifer A. Tracy
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Peripheral Neuropathy ◽  
Critical Illness ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Critical Illness Polyneuropathy ◽  
Muscle Disorder

Acquired weakness in critically ill patients is common, affecting between one-third to one-half of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Exposure to simultaneous stressors such as metabolic derangements, fluid and electrolyte shifts, infection, catabolic stress, and medications put patients in the ICU at risk for damage to both nerve and skeletal muscle with substantial and often lasting morbidity. Critical illness polyneuropathy is a length-dependent, axonal peripheral neuropathy occurring in patients in the ICU and unrelated to the primary illness. Critical illness myopathy is an ICU-associated muscle disorder occurring independently of denervation and uniquely identified by electrophysiologic and histologic characteristics.

scholarly journals Anemia and Blood Transfusions in Critically Ill Patients

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kamran Athar ◽  
Nitin Puri ◽  
David R. Gerber
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Blood Cell ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Blood Transfusions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
The Impact

Anemia is common in critically ill patients. As a consequence packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusions are frequent in the critically ill. Over the past two decades a growing body of literature has emerged, linking PRBC transfusion to infections, immunosuppression, organ dysfunction, and a higher mortality rate. However, despite growing evidence that risk of PRBC transfusion outweighs its benefit, significant numbers of critically ill patients still receive PRBC transfusion during their intensive care unit (ICU) stay. In this paper, we summarize the current literature concerning the impact of anemia on outcomes in critically ill patients and the potential complications of PRBC transfusions.

scholarly journals Albumin–Globulin Ratio Is an Independent Determinant of 28-Day Mortality in Patients with Critical Illness

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Bin Liu ◽  
Kun Xiao ◽  
Peng Yan ◽  
Tianyu Sun ◽  
Jiang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critical Illness ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Independent Predictor ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Cox Regression Analysis ◽  
Increased Risk

Background. Critical illness in the intensive care unit (ICU) has been a global health priority. Systemic nutritional status has turned out to be related to the prognosis of critically ill patients. The albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) has been reported to be a novel prognostic factor of many diseases. This study is aimed at investigating whether the AGR could predict the mortality risk in critically ill patients. Methods. We enrolled 582 adult patients admitted to the respiratory intensive care unit (RICU). We collected the clinical and laboratory data. X-tile software was used to determine the optimal cut-off values for the AGR. Patients were divided into three groups according to the AGR (low AGR group with AGR < 0.8 , medium AGR group with AGR ranging from 0.8 to 1.1, and high AGR group with AGR > 1.1 ). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for survival analysis. A Cox proportional hazard model was applied to the univariate and multivariate analyses for the potential predictors associated with survival. Results. Our present study showed that the AGR was related to the 28-day survival of critically ill patients in the RICU. The rate of pneumonia in the low AGR group was significantly higher than that in the other groups. Patients with a lower AGR present an increased risk of 28-day mortality compared to patients with a higher AGR. Cox regression analysis showed that the AGR might be an independent predictor of prognosis to 28-day survival in critically ill patients in the RICU. Medium and high AGR values remained independently associated with better 28-day survival than low AGR values (HR: 0.484 (0.263-0.892) ( p = 0.02 ); HR: 0.332 (0.166-0.665) ( p = 0.002 )). Conclusion. The AGR might be an independent predictor of prognosis in critically ill patients.

scholarly journals The Type II Iodothyronine Deiodinase Is Up-Regulated in Skeletal Muscle during Prolonged Critical Illness

2007 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 3330-3333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liese Mebis ◽  
Lies Langouche ◽  
Theo J. Visser ◽  
Greet Van den Berghe
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critical Illness ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Low T3 Syndrome ◽  
Low T3

Abstract Context: Critical illness is associated with the low T3 syndrome. It remains unclear whether altered type II deiodinase activity (D2) in skeletal muscle contributes to this syndrome. Objective: Our objective was to study D2 expression and activity in skeletal muscle of acute and prolonged critically ill patients. Design and Setting: We conducted a clinical observational study in acute and prolonged critical illness with comparison with healthy controls at a university hospital surgical intensive care unit. Patients: Subjects included 63 prolonged critically ill patients who died in the intensive care unit, 21 acutely ill patients, and 38 controls matched for age, gender, and body mass index. Results: Elevated expression of the D2 gene and D2 activity in skeletal muscle of prolonged, but not acute, critically ill patients were observed in the face of low circulating thyroid hormone levels. Conclusions: Reduced D2 activity does not appear to play a role in the pathogenesis of the low T3 syndrome of critical illness.

Intensive care unit-related generalized neuromuscular weakness due to critical illness polyneuropathy/myopathy in critically ill patients

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstratios Apostolakis ◽  
Nikolaos A. Papakonstantinou ◽  
Nikolaos G. Baikoussis ◽  
George Papadopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critical Illness ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Critical Illness Polyneuropathy

scholarly journals Treatment of a Critically Ill COVID-19 Patient with the Seraph 100 Microbind Affinity Filter

TH Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. e134-e138
Author(s):  
Anke Pape ◽  
Jan T. Kielstein ◽  
Tillman Krüger ◽  
Thomas Fühner ◽  
Reinhard Brunkhorst
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Randomized Trials ◽  
Clinical Course ◽  
Pharmacological Therapy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Special Patient

AbstractThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a serious impact on health and economics worldwide. Even though the majority of patients present with moderate and mild symptoms, yet a considerable portion of patients need to be treated in the intensive care unit. Aside from dexamethasone, there is no established pharmacological therapy. Moreover, some of the currently tested drugs are contraindicated for special patient populations like remdesivir for patients with severely impaired renal function. On this background, several extracorporeal treatments are currently explored concerning their potential to improve the clinical course and outcome of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Here, we report the use of the Seraph 100 Microbind Affinity filter, which is licensed in the European Union for the removal of pathogens. Authorization for emergency use in patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit with confirmed or imminent respiratory failure was granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April 17, 2020.A 53-year-old Caucasian male with a severe COVID-19 infection was treated with a Seraph Microbind Affinity filter hemoperfusion after clinical deterioration and commencement of mechanical ventilation. The 70-minute treatment at a blood flow of 200 mL/minute was well tolerated, and the patient was hemodynamically stable. The hemoperfusion reduced D-dimers dramatically.This case report suggests that the use of Seraph 100 Microbind Affinity filter hemoperfusion might have positive effects on the clinical course of critically ill patients with COVID-19. However, future prospective collection of data ideally in randomized trials will have to confirm whether the use of Seraph 100 Microbind Affinity filter hemoperfusion is an option of the treatment for COVID-19.

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