The word ‘Serendipity’ was coined by Horace Walpole (1717–1797), 4th Earl of Orford. In a letter he wrote in 1757, he talked about a ‘silly fairy tale’ that he had once read, from which he derived the word ‘serendipity’ for describing the ability to make accidental discoveries. ‘As their Highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accident and sagacity, of things they were not...

The recently published data of Donadio in Critical Care provide convincing evidence that neutrophil gelatinaseassociated lipocalin (NGAL), an established key biomarker of acute kidney injury (AKI) in the critically ill, can be effectively removed by renal replacement therapy (RRT) [1]. His findings challenge recent work by Schilder et al. [2] and corroborate our concern regarding the potential ...

INTRODUCTION Hemofiltration may modulate the inflammatory response in sepsis through a variety of mechanisms. We sought to distinguish clearance from adsorption as the principal mechanism responsible for reducing circulating IL-6 levels with hemofiltration. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nine hours after cecal ligation and puncture in 18 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, we divided the rats into three g...

BACKGROUND Regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) is being increasingly used during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in intensive care units as an alternative to systemic heparin anticoagulation. However, due to its availability in a variety of solutions and dialysis systems, RCA is still considered a complex intervention, possibly leading to confusion and pitfalls in everyday practi...

OBJECTIVES To measure the mass transfer and clearance of procalcitonin (PCT) in patients with septic shock during continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH), and to assess the mechanisms of elimination of PCT. SETTING The medical department of intensive care. DESIGN A prospective, observational study. PATIENTS Thirteen critically ill patients with septic shock and oliguric acute renal fa...

OBJECTIVE The high incidence of cardiovascular diseases in chronic renal failure (CRF) and hemodialyzed (HD) patients is now well established and the involvement of oxidative stress has been hypothesized in these phenomena. The aim of our study was to evaluate the level of oxidative stress in healthy controls (CTL) compared with CRF and HD patients before (pre-HD) and after (post-HD) the dialys...

Sir, Haemodialysis (HD) patients have a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection due to blood transfusions or nosocomial transmission w1,2x; however, the clinical course of HCV-associated liver disease in HD patients is usually mild w3,4x. Recent studies have described a consistent reduction of plasma HCV-RNA levels after dialysis w5–7x, independently of the membranes and anticoagul...

icity versus cytoprotection—how, why, when and where? Nitric and/or modulating factors are involved, though perOxide: Biology and Chemistry 1997; 1: 107–120 haps only in a minority of cases. 6. Amore A, Cirina P, Peruzzi L, Gianoglio B, Coppo R. Acetate The simple procedure of rinsing with sodium bicarintolerance is mediated by enhanced synthesis of nitric oxide by bonate—containing solutions m...