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Background: This retrospective overview examines the management of patients with temporary open abdomen (OA)., Methods: The clinical characteristics and intensive care treatment of 34 consecutive patients with OA (1996-2012) were reviewed., Results: Average age was 61 years, SAPS II score 43, SOFA 8. Two patients had non-contaminated abdomen; 12 had intact gut (only 8 later during stay); 7 repaired gut (only later 4); 13 cutaneous stoma (later 14), and 2 entero-atmospheric fistula (later 8+1 entero-enteral). The median ICU stay was 48 [36-94] days. One quarter of the 2376 ICU-days were classified as severe sepsis/septic shock (antibiotics were given for two thirds of the stay); three quarters were with ventilation; in 95% of days sedatives were given (mainly enterally). Continuous cavity lavage was done in three quarters of days; in 3% of days patients were fasted whereas >20 kcal/kg was given for 74% of days; we fed the gut in 95% of fed-days, in half of them combined with parenteral nutrition. Complications are discussed; mortality was 32.4%, limited to the ICU stay., Conclusion: The intensive care of patients with OA is challenging but can achieve better outcomes than expected. Continuous abdominal lavage improves the evacuation of contaminated fluid or debris and, coupled with antiseptics and low antibiotic pressure, reinforces the control of infection. The gut can be used for nutrition (even without gastrointestinal continuity), and long-term light sedation (mainly enteral) with minimal impact on perfusion, ventilation and gut motility.

Background: Diagnosis/grading of infection and the systemic response to infection may be difficult on admission to the intensive care unit, but it is even more complicated for severely ill patients with long intensive care stays. The ACCP-SCCM criteria are difficult to apply for such patients, and objective, validated biomarkers would be of great use in this setting., Methods: Long-term (>6 days) critically ill patients in the general ICU of University Hospital were prospectively enrolled in the study. All patients were assessed daily by the attending physician using the ACCP-SCCM classification. C-reactive protein (CRP, mg/dL), procalcitonin (PCT, ng/mL), and interleukin-6 (IL-6, pg/mL) of daily stored sera were measured after each patient's discharge. After discharge, an independent, overall clinical evaluation and an a posteriori ACCP-SCCM classification were chosen as the reference standard for all comparisons. The assessor was aware of the patient's clinical course but was blinded to levels of biomarkers., Results: We studied clinical variables and biomarkers of 26 patients over a total of 592 patient days. The day-by-day ACCP-SCCM classification of the attending physician overestimated the severity of the inflammatory response to infection. The diagnostic discriminative ability of severe-sepsis/septic-shock for PCT was high (ROC area 0.952 [0.931-0.973]) and had a best threshold value of 1.58 (83.7% sensitivity, 94.6 % specificity). IL-6 had better discriminative ability than CRP, but both were worse than PCT., Conclusion: PCT > 0.43 ng/mL could add to the clinical propensity for sepsis vs. SIRS not related to infection. Values higher than 1.58 ng/mL may support the bedside clinical diagnosis of severe-sepsis. PCT between 0.5 and 1.0 suggest tight daily monitoring of clinical conditions and re-evaluation of PCT.

Aim: To evaluate the use of noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) in patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema., Design: prospective study., Setting: Emergency Department at a University hospital., Patients: 84 patients with acute respiratory distress due to pulmonary edema. Interven-tions: NIMV, using a pressure support mode and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). A "weaning test" to evaluate clinical stability., Measurements: heart rate, arterial blood pressure, respiratory rate, arterial blood gases, electrocardiogram and incidence of myocardial infarction before and after NIMV. Mortality and duration of hospital stay were also considered., Results: A total of 84 patients received NIMV with 14+/-3.6 cm H2O pressure support over PEEP of 8.3+/-2.1 cm H2O and FiO2 1. At the end of the study period, 16 patients (19%) were considered "non responders" and required invasive ventilation; 62 patients (74%) were considered "responders" and subsequently transferred to the medical ward. The hospital mortality was 14% and 25% in the "responder" and "non responder" groups, respectively; the length of stay was 15.7+/-10.1 days in the "responder" group vs 16+/-10.6 days in the "non responder" group. We never found new episodes of myocardial infarction related to NIMV. The only significant difference between "responder" and "non responder" patients was arterial blood pressure., Conclusions: We hypothesize that "non responder" patients, characterized by blood pressure values lower than "responders", are less "cardiocompetent" and thus unable to cope with the increased work of breathing. NIMV avoided Intensive Care Unit admission for 74% of the observed patients.

Objective: To describe a generalized myopathic disorder occurred in the convalescence phase of illness of a critically ill patient., Setting: Neurological Intensive Care Unit., Patient: A 43-year-old man with acute leukoencephalopathy and severe sepsis complicated by sustained and prolonged cardiovascular, respiratory and renal failure. After 15 days of complete respiratory autonomy, the patient presented an acute ventilatory failure associated with generalized muscle weakness. Neither a relapse of sepsis nor neurological worsening were detected., Measurements and Results: Electromyogram resulted in normal conduction velocity in both motor and sensitive nervous fibers. Muscular biopsy showed marked fiber size variability with several hypotrophic fibers type II fiber grouping, several areas of degeneration-necrosis with macrophage invasion, dishomogeneous oxidative enzymatic activity, no increase in glycogen or lipid content., Conclusions: These results excluded critical illness polyneuropathy and all the other known myopathies. Prolonged period of sepsis with multiple organ failure can result in a direct generalized myopathy. This possibility should be kept in mind while treating long term critically ill survivors.

Aim: We evaluated muscle-visceral interorgan flux of substrates in 8 critically ill patients in the flow phase after injury., Setting: This study was conducted on critically ill patients admitted in ICU., Patients: 8 patients were studied immediately after injury., Results: We measured leg flux for oxygen, amino acids, glucose, lactate pyruvate, keton bodies, free fatty acids (FFA), free and total carnitine, and whole body oxygen consumption, nitrogen (N) balance and 3-methyl hystidine (3MEH) excretion during fasting and the second day of metabolic treatment (10.7 +/- 0.06 g x N x m-2 e 1035.5 +/- 3.9 kcal x m-2 x die). During fast the leg shows a net release of N, pyruvate, FFA and free carnitine while glucose, lactate and keton bodies fluxes are not different from zero. The energy balance of the leg is markedly negative (substrate for 79 kcal x m-2 burned for leg energy requirement and 347 kcal x m-2 released as a such). Assuming the body muscle tissue 4.5 times the leg tissue and knowing whole body energy balance, we were able to assess that the non muscular (visceral) part of the body resulted in a consistently positive energy balance. The metabolic treatment is able to match the energy expenditure and the substrate efflux of the leg (and the whole body muscle tissue). In fact the efflux of amino acids and FFA is reduced pyruvate blunted while glucose is remarkably taken up (the uptake of the whole muscle tissue accounted for 72% of the daily load). At the same time, the treatment blunts leg free carnitine and reduces body 3MEH output. Moreover, the caloric balance of the non muscular part of the body remains positive even if the qualiquantitative uptake of substrates is different from fasting., Conclusion: Substrates for energy requirements of visceral tissue came from muscular tissue. The metabolic treatment is able to modulate this process.