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Objective To describe the incidence, risk factors, and impact on mortality of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viral pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation. Design Observational cohort study. Patients and methods AKI was defined as risk, injury or failure, according to the RIFLE classification. Early and late AKI were defined as AKI occurring on intensive care unit (ICU) day 2 or before, or after ICU day 2, respectively. Demographic data and information on organ dysfunction were collected daily. Results Of 84 patients, AKI developed in 43 patients (51%). Twenty (24%) needed renal replacement therapy. Early and late AKI were found in 28 (33%) and 15 (18%) patients, respectively. Patients with AKI, as compared with patients without AKI, had higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score and ICU mortality (72% versus 39%, p

Traumatic disease is a leading cause of death in younger patients. Substance abuse is a factor of risk for serious injuries and also influences the recurrence thereof. Detecting consumption is paramount to optimize the management of these patients in the care unit intensive as well as high once for prevention strategies secondary. Within these substances, the incidence of cocaine use in the South American cone is a growing health problem.

Prolonged shifts, workload, stress, and different conflicts are associated with burnout, loss of psychological wellbeing, and probably with an inadequate sleep quality (ISQ). This relevant disturbance leads to deterioration of the work performance, may impair quality of care provided to patients and increases the incidence of serious adverse events. The objective was to determine the prevalence of ISQ and sleepiness among Uruguayan ICU workers, and to evaluate risk factors associated with ISQ.

The ICU is a stressful place with several sources of conflicts. Among ICU workers, conflicts lead to burnout, loss of psychological well-being, and deterioration of the work performance. Intra-team conflicts (conflicts that occur among members of the intensive care team) are one of the most frequent types of conflicts in the ICU. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence, risk factors and consequences associated with intra-team conflicts in the ICU.

Most investigators discuss the predictive value of respiratory surveillance cultures in mechanically ventilated patients and doubt on the appropriate selection of the antibiotic therapy based on these findings, when pneumonia develops. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether microorganisms cultured from semiquantitative tracheal aspirates (SQTA) in the 48 hours prior to the clinical suspicion of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) were predictive of the etiology, compared with the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) results performed on the same day that the clinical diagnosis was considered