BACKGROUND Critical illness neuromuscular disease, which has been recognised as a distinct clinical entity in adults, remains poorly described in children. AIMS To assess retrospectively the clinical, electrophysiological, and prognostic features of the disease. METHODS Retrospective study in a children's university hospital. RESULTS Five critically ill patients presented with generalised...

Anaemia occurs frequently during critical illness. Recent studies have increased our understanding of how well critically ill patients tolerate anaemia. It is known that anaemia does not result simply from diagnostic and physical blood loss, but is multifactorial in origin. Recently, abnormalities in circulating red cell function have been described that are potentially relevant to efficient ox...

OBJECTIVE To critically review, analyze, and synthesize the literature on parenting stress among caregivers of children with asthma, cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, epilepsy, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and/or sickle cell disease. Method PsychInfo, MEDLINE, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched according to inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of 13 studi...

BACKGROUND The 'obesity paradox' of critical illness refers to better survival with a higher body mass index. We hypothesized that fat mobilized from excess adipose tissue during critical illness provides energy more efficiently than exogenous macronutrients and could prevent lean tissue wasting. METHODS In lean and premorbidly obese mice, the effect of 5 days of sepsis-induced critical illne...

Critical illness and stays in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) have significant impact on sleep. Poor sleep is common this setting, can persist beyond acute critical illness, associated with increased morbidity mortality. In past 5 years, intensive care clinical practice guidelines directed more focus circadian disruption, spurring new initiatives to study improve complications critically ill. The...

Levofloxacin is commonly used in critically ill patients for which existing data suggest nonstandard dosing regimens should be used. The objective of this study was to compare the population pharmacokinetics of levofloxacin in critically ill and in non-critically ill patients. Adult patients with a clinical indication for levofloxacin were eligible for participation in this prospective pharmaco...

OBJECTIVE Serum levels of microRNA have been proposed as biomarkers in various inflammatory diseases. However, up to now, their clinical relevance in critical illness and sepsis is unclear. DESIGN Single-center clinical study. SETTING Fourteen-bed medical ICU of the University Hospital Aachen, university laboratory research unit. SUBJECTS AND PATIENTS Experimental sepsis model in C57Bl/6 ...

OBJECTIVE To review current concepts in the diagnosis of adrenocortical disease in the critically ill patient. DATA SOURCES A review of articles reported on adrenocortical insufficiency in the acutely ill patient. SUMMARY OF REVIEW The contribution of adrenal insufficiency to the morbidity of critically ill patients is currently under renewed scrutiny. The debate continues about the role of...

  Abscess formation following intramuscular injections is rare and they are most commonly seen in immunocompromised individuals. In this case series we present a cohort of three patients presented to us in a critically ill condition with an abscess due to intramuscular injection. Vancomycin resistant staphylococcus aureus was isolated from all three patients. These patients posed a major challe...

abscess formation following intramuscular injections is rare and they are most commonly seen in immunocompromised individuals. in this case series we present a cohort of three patients presented to us in a critically ill condition with an abscess due to intramuscular injection. vancomycin resistant staphylococcus aureus was isolated from all three patients. these patients posed a major challeng...