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Background/Objectives: In critically ill patients, achieving a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 65 mmHg is a recommended resuscitation goal to ensure proper tissue oxygenation. Unfortunately, some patients do not benefit from providing such a value, suggesting that other indices are needed for better hemodynamic assessment. Capillary refill time (CRT) has emerged as an established marker for peripheral perfusion and a therapeutic target in critical illness, but its relationship with other exponents of hypoperfusion during vasopressor support after resuscitation period still warrants further research. This study aimed to investigate whether in critically ill patients after initial resuscitation, CRT would provide information independent of other, readily accessible hemodynamic variables. Methods: Critically ill patients who were mechanically ventilated after the resuscitation period and receiving vasopressors were prospectively studied between December 2022 and June 2023. Vasopressor support was measured using norepinephrine equivalent doses (NEDs). CRT, MAP and NED were assessed simultaneously and analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation. Results: A total of 92 patients were included and 210 combined MAP-CRT-NED-Lactate records were obtained. There was no correlation between CRT and MAP (R = −0.1, p = 0.14) or lactate (R = 0.11, p = 0.13), but there was a positive weak correlation between CRT and NED (R = 0.25, p = 0.0005). In patients with hypotension, in 83% of cases (15/18), CRT was within normal range, despite different doses of catecholamines. When assessing patients with high catecholamine doses, in 58% cases (11/19), CRT was normal and MAP was usually above 65 mmHg. Conclusions: Capillary refill time provides additional hemodynamic information that is not highly related with the values of mean arterial pressure, lactate level and vasopressor doses. It could be incorporated into routine physical examination in critically ill patients who are beyond initial resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sepsis is defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by an abnormal host response to infection. The study aimed to evaluate the utility of presepsin (P-SEP) in predicting the risk of death in patients with sepsis at the time of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Methods: Adult patients were included in the study if they met SEPSIS-3 criteria at ICU admission. Demographic and clinical data were collected. The following inflammatory parameters were determined: C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and presepsin (P-SEP). Material was collected for microbiological testing depending on the suspected source of infection. The primary endpoint was patient death before ICU discharge. The secondary endpoint was a positive microbiological test result. Results: Eighty-six patients were included in the study. Thirty patients (35%) died before discharge from the ICU. There was no difference in P-SEP, CRP, PCT, and IL-6 values between patients who survived and those who died (p > 0.05 for all). P-SEP, CRP, PCT, and IL-6 were determined at ICU admission and did not accurately predict the risk of death in ROC curve analysis (p > 0.05 for all). Confirmation of the location of the focus of bacterial infection by microbiological testing was obtained in 43 (49%) patients. P-SEP, PCT, CRP, and IL-6 were significantly higher in patients with positive microbiological findings. Conclusions: In patients with suspected sepsis admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, presepsin does not accurately predict the risk of in-hospital death, but it can predict a positive microbiological culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Sepsis-associated brain dysfunction is a common organ dysfunction in sepsis. The main goal of this study was to verify whether the combined assessment of central nervous system injury markers (i.e. S100B, NSE, GFAP) and disease severity as per the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II), and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) classification systems, would increase the accuracy of death prediction in septic shock. Material and methods. Markers of neuronal damage were determined in 55 patients diagnosed with septic shock with no previous neurological disease. Clinical data was collected and the scores on the APACHE II, SAPS II and SOFA prognostic scales were calculated. Death before discharge from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was established as the endpoint. Results. Nineteen patients (35%) died before ICU discharge. Patients who died had significantly higher S100B and NSE values, and APACHE II, SAPS II and SOFA scores (p < 0.05 for all). At the time of septic shock diagnosis, NSE levels more accurately predicted the risk of death before ICU discharge than S100B. However, NSE had no better predictive value for short-term mortality than APACHE II, SAPS II and SOFA. Adding C-reactive protein (CRP) and S100B concentrations to the APACHE II score created a predictive model with 95% mortality accuracy (AUC = 0.95; 95% CI 0.85-0.99; p = 0.03). Conclusions. The assessment of acute neuronal injury plays an important role in prognostication in patients with septic shock. The concentration of S100B protein in combination with APACHE II score and concentration of CRP more accurately predicts mortality than the APACHE II alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stiff person syndrome (SPS) is an extremely rare neurological disorder with primarily immune-mediated etiology. The cardinal symptoms are progressive, fluctuating axial/proximal limb muscle stiffness and spasms. The diagnosis is based on the clinical picture, electromyography examination and detection of antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD). Adverse effects of medications might preclude its use or increase in dosing, therefore symptomatic and/or immunomodulatory medical therapy might be ineffective in acute exacerbation of the disease. We present a case of a 49-year-old female with exacerbation of SPS, in whom some standard pharmacotherapy could not be introduced (clonazepam, baclofen used in the past) and doses of existing standard medications could not be increased (diazepam, gabapentin, and levetiracetam) due to adverse effects. Moreover, a newly introduced medication (methylprednisolone) also led to a serious adverse effect (severe hyperglycemia). The patient underwent therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) with good effect and no complications. We review the literature regarding the efficacy and safety profile of TPE in exacerbation of SPS unresponsive to medical therapy. The procedure seems to have a good safety profile as an adjunct therapy for exacerbation of SPS not responding to standard medical therapy in this patient population.

Angiotensin II (AT) is a potent vasoconstrictor and hypertensive drug that is registered for the treatment of severe hypotension in vasoplegic shock. Growing experience with the use of AT in cardiac surgery allows the first therapeutic algorithms to be created. This paper is a proposal for the use of AT in distributive shock after extracorporeal circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]