We present hoc: a fast, scalable objects repository providing programmers with a general storage module. hoc may be used to implement DSMs as well as distributed cache subsystems. hoc is composed by a set of hot-pluggable cooperating processes that may sustain close to optimal network traffic rates. We designed an hoc-based Web cache that extends the Apache Web server and remarkably improves Ap...

This study aims to analyze the factors that affect the prognosis of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in elderly patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Data obtained from 41 elderly patients with AKI who underwent CRRT in our department between January 2001 and December 2010 was retrospectively evaluated in this study. The enrolled patients were 80 to 100 years old, with a mortality...

BACKGROUND Acute pancreatitis has a broad clinical spectrum, from mild illness to multiple organ failure and death. Prognostic scores have been developed or adapted to predict disease severity. This study aimed to compare the prognostic scores according to sensitivity and specificity, receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve. Statistical correlation with disease severit...

Aim To verify and compare the accuracies of mortality predictions in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Internal Clinic of Central Military Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, using model APACHE II and the newer systems of the APACHE IV, SAPS 3 and MPMo III. Methods The data were collected retrospectively between 2011 and 2012, 1000 patients were evaluated. The assessment of the overall accur...

Objective Acute pancreatitis presents a broad clinical spectrum ranging from cases so mild that symptoms abate before the diagnosis is actively pursued, to cases which progress rapidly to multisystem failure and eventual demise of patient despite current mode of therapy. Methods A retrospective study of 50 patients diagnosed as acute pancreatitis was done. Patients suffering from acute pancreat...

BACKGROUND Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is an acute and life-threatening complication in diabetic patients. The current diagnostic criteria of DKA are metabolic acidosis, blood glucose level greater than 250 mg/dL and the presence of ketones in serum or urine. DKA patients referring to the emergency department (ED) are usually ill. OBJECTIVES The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of ...

OBJECTIVES There are scarce data from India validating scoring systems used to predict outcome in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. This study prospectively compared the organ system failure (OSF), the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II, and the APACHE III, scores on patients requiring mechanical ventilation in the medical intensive care unit, to predict outcome...

OBJECTIVE To determine the first 24 hours mean values of APACHE II score for two outcomes (alive or dead) in patients admitted in chest ICUs. METHODS A prospective study was conducted in the Department of Chest, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Hospital, Karachi from January 2009 to December 2009. Patients of all ages and either gender admitted in chest ICU for any cause, were consecutively...

BACKGROUND The mortality rate after discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) (so called post-ICU mortality) has remained high (8.6-23.6%) during the past 15 years. The object of this study was to examine the effects of the severity of illness at ICU discharge assessed using the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) on the post-ICU mortality rate. METHODS A 6-month prospe...

AIM The aim of the current study is to assess the mortality prediction accuracy of circulating cell-free DNA (CFD) level at admission measured by a new simplified method. MATERIALS AND METHODS CFD levels were measured by a direct fluorescence assay in severe sepsis patients on intensive care unit (ICU) admission. In-hospital and/or twenty eight day all-cause mortality was the primary outcome....