Articles

Late presentation of Torsades de Pointes related to fluoxetine following a multiple drug overdose

Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) commonly used in the treatment of depression. While most intoxications with SSRI’s have favorable outcomes and do not require interventions other t...

Authors: Jan Albert Nicolaas Groot, Leonore ten Bokum and Hubertus Laurentius Antonius van den Oever

“Low-” versus “high”-frequency oscillation and right ventricular function in ARDS. A randomized crossover study

Recent, large trials of high-frequency oscillation (HFO) versus conventional ventilation (CV) in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) reported negative results. This could be explained by an HFO-induced ...

Authors: Spyros D. Mentzelopoulos, Hector Anninos, Sotirios Malachias and Spyros G. Zakynthinos

Treatment of patients with sepsis in a closed intensive care unit is associated with improved survival: a nationwide observational study in Japan

The aim of this study is to investigate the association between treatment in a closed ICU and survival at discharge in patients with sepsis.

Authors: Takayuki Ogura, Yoshihiko Nakamura, Kunihiko Takahashi, Kazuki Nishida, Daisuke Kobashi and Shigeyuki Matsui

Predictors and outcomes of early post-operative veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation following infant cardiac surgery

We aimed to determine predictors of, and outcomes after, veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation instituted within 48 h after cardiac surgery (early ECMO) in young infants.

Authors: Gabriela A. Kuraim, Daniel Garros, Lindsay Ryerson, Fahimeh Moradi, Irina A. Dinu, Gonzalo Garcia Guerra, Diane Moddemann, Gwen Y. Bond, Charlene M. T. Robertson and Ari R. Joffe

Transient hyperlactatemia during intravenous administration of glycerol: a prospective observational study

Intravenous glycerol treatment, usually administered in the form of a 5% fructose solution, can be used to reduce intracranial pressure. The administered fructose theoretically influences blood lactate levels,...

Authors: Shinshu Katayama, Ken Tonai, Yuya Goto, Kansuke Koyama, Toshitaka Koinuma, Jun Shima, Masahiko Wada and Shin Nunomiya

Pericardial injury from chest compression: a case report of incidental release of cardiac tamponade

Although chest compression is a standard technique in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, it is well recognized that manual chest compression causes various internal injuries, of which major injuries are often fata...

Authors: Shigeaki Aoyagi, Tomokazu Kosuga, Kumiko Wada, Shin-ichi Nata and Hiroshi Yasunaga

Prolonged low-dose methylprednisolone treatment is highly effective in reducing duration of mechanical ventilation and mortality in patients with ARDS

An updated meta-analysis incorporating nine randomized trials (n = 816) investigating low-to-moderate dose prolonged glucocorticoid treatment in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) show moderate-to-high qu...

Authors: Gianfranco Umberto Meduri, Reed A. C. Siemieniuk, Rachel A. Ness and Samuel J. Seyler

Extrasystoles for fluid responsiveness prediction in critically ill patients

Fluid responsiveness prediction with continuously available monitoring is an unsettled matter for the vast majority of critically ill patients, and development of new and reliable methods is desired. We hypoth...

Authors: Simon Tilma Vistisen, Martin Buhl Krog, Thomas Elkmann, Mikael Fink Vallentin, Thomas W. L. Scheeren and Christoffer Sølling

Balanced crystalloids versus isotonic saline in critically ill patients: systematic review and meta-analysis

Intravenous fluids are one of the most used medical therapy for patients, especially critically ill patients. We conducted a meta-analysis comparing between balanced crystalloids and normal saline in criticall...

Authors: Yazan Z. M. Zayed, Ahmed M. Y. Aburahma, Mahmoud O. Barbarawi, Kewan Hamid, Momen R. N. Banifadel, Laith Rashdan and Ghassan I. Bachuwa

Echocardiogram-guided resuscitation versus early goal-directed therapy in the treatment of septic shock: a randomized, controlled, feasibility trial

Echocardiography is often used to guide septic shock resuscitation, but without evidence for efficacy. We conducted an intensive care unit (ICU)-based randomized controlled feasibility trial comparing echocard...

Authors: Michael J. Lanspa, Rebecca E. Burk, Emily L. Wilson, Eliotte L. Hirshberg, Colin K. Grissom and Samuel M. Brown

Difficult tracheal intubation in critically ill

Endotracheal intubation in critically ill is a high-risk procedure requiring significant expertise in airway handling as well as understanding of pathophysiology of the disease process.

Authors: Armin Ahmed and Afzal Azim

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guideline for acute kidney injury 2016

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a syndrome which has a broad range of etiologic factors depending on different clinical settings. Because AKI has significant impacts on prognosis in any clinical settings, early d...

Authors: Kent Doi, Osamu Nishida, Takashi Shigematsu, Tomohito Sadahiro, Noritomo Itami, Kunitoshi Iseki, Yukio Yuzawa, Hirokazu Okada, Daisuke Koya, Hideyasu Kiyomoto, Yugo Shibagaki, Kenichi Matsuda, Akihiko Kato, Terumasa Hayashi, Tomonari Ogawa, Tatsuo Tsukamoto…

Studying the effect of abdominal massage on the gastric residual volume in patients hospitalized in intensive care units

The main problem of hospitalized patients in intensive care units is feeding, and if the patient does not receive the daily caloric intake required to his body, he will have malnutrition and problems related t...

Authors: Farzad Momenfar, Alireza Abdi, Nader Salari, Ali Soroush and Behzad Hemmatpour

The prognostic performance of qSOFA for community-acquired pneumonia

Quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) is a new screening system for sepsis. The prognostic performance of qSOFA for patients with suspected infections outside the intensive care unit (ICU) is s...

Authors: Fumiaki Tokioka, Hiroshi Okamoto, Akio Yamazaki, Akihiro Itou and Tadashi Ishida

Preliminary guideline- and pathophysiology-based protocols for neurocritical care

Because of the complex pathophysiological processes involved, neurocritical care has been driven by anecdotal experience and physician preferences, which has led to care variation worldwide. Standardization of...

Authors: Yasuhiro Norisue, Yoshihisa Fujimoto and Kazuma Nakagawa

Lung-thorax compliance measured during a spontaneous breathing trial is a good index of extubation failure in the surgical intensive care unit: a retrospective cohort study

Extubation failure is associated with mortality and morbidity in the intensive care unit. Ventilator weaning protocols have been introduced, and extubation is conducted based on the results of a spontaneous br...

Authors: Yugo Okabe, Takehiko Asaga, Sayuri Bekku, Hiromi Suzuki, Kanae Kanda, Takeshi Yoda, Tomohiro Hirao and Gotaro Shirakami

A favorable outcome of intensive immunotherapies for new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE)

New-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) is a newly defined critical disease entity characterized by prolonged periods of refractory epileptic seizure with no readily identifiable cause in otherwise hea...

Authors: Satoshi Kodama, Noritoshi Arai, Akiyoshi Hagiwara, Akio Kimura and Sousuke Takeuchi

The impact of smoking on patient outcomes in severe sepsis and septic shock

To assess, in the setting of severe sepsis and septic shock, whether current smokers have worse outcomes compared to non-smokers.

Authors: Fahad Alroumi, Ahmed Abdul Azim, Rachel Kergo, Yuxiu Lei and James Dargin

Reverse triggering induced by endotracheal tube leak in lightly sedated ARDS patient

Reverse triggering is respiratory entrainment triggered by the ventilator especially seen among heavily sedated patients. We confirmed reverse triggering induced by auto-triggering in lightly sedated patient t...

Authors: Taiga Itagaki, Yoshitoyo Ueno, Nobuto Nakanishi and Jun Oto

Preserving fertility in an unconscious patient with Goodpasture syndrome—medicolegal and ethical aspects

Every day in the ICU, legal issues arise while treating sedated, unconscious, and legally incapacitated patients. Whenever a life-saving treatment cannot be discussed in a timely manner with an unconscious pat...

Authors: Doreen Stark, Ruth Stiller, Min Xie, Damian Weber, Marco Maggiorini and Matthias Peter Hilty

Continuous EEG monitoring in ICU

Continuous electroencephalogram (CEEG) monitoring is increasingly being used for brain monitoring in neurocritical care setting. This is because of the proven effectiveness of CEEG in diagnosing nonconvulsive ...

Authors: Yuichi Kubota, Hidetoshi Nakamoto, Satoshi Egawa and Takakazu Kawamata

Comparison of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation outcome for influenza-associated acute respiratory failure in Japan between 2009 and 2016

Since the 2009 pandemic influenza, we have nationally established a committee of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) project. This project involves adequate respiratory management for severe respira...

Authors: Shinichiro Ohshimo, Nobuaki Shime, Satoshi Nakagawa, Osamu Nishida and Shinhiro Takeda

Serial change of C1 inhibitor in patients with sepsis: a prospective observational study

C1 inhibitor (C1-INH), which belongs to the superfamily of serine protease inhibitors, regulates the complement system and also the plasma kallikrein-kinin, fibrinolytic, and coagulation systems. The biologic ...

Authors: Tomoya Hirose, Hiroshi Ogura, Hiroki Takahashi, Masahiro Ojima, Kang Jinkoo, Youhei Nakamura, Takashi Kojima and Takeshi Shimazu

Daily use of extracorporeal CO₂ removal in a critical care unit: indications and results

While outcome improvement with extracorporeal CO₂ removal (ECCO₂R) is not demonstrated, a strong pathophysiological rational supports its use in the setting of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and COPD ...

Authors: Hadrien Winiszewski, François Aptel, François Belon, Nicolas Belin, Claire Chaignat, Cyrille Patry, Cecilia Clermont, Elise David, Jean-Christophe Navellou, Guylaine Labro, Gaël Piton and Gilles Capellier

Recruitment maneuver does not provide any mortality benefit over lung protective strategy ventilation in adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: a meta-analysis and systematic review of the randomized controlled trials

Clinical benefits of recruitment maneuver in ARDS patients are controversial. A number of previous studies showed possible benefits; a large recent study reported that recruitment maneuver and PEEP titration m...

Authors: Sulagna Bhattacharjee, Kapil D. Soni and Souvik Maitra

Safety of 4-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4F-PCC) for emergent reversal of factor Xa inhibitors

Although factor Xa inhibitors have become a popular choice for chronic oral anticoagulation, effective drug reversal remains difficult due to a lack of specific antidote. Currently, 4-factor prothrombin comple...

Authors: Jing Tao, Elena N. Bukanova and Shamsuddin Akhtar

The lactate clearance calculated using serum lactate level 6 h after is an important prognostic predictor after extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a single-center retrospective observational study

Serum lactate level can predict clinical outcomes in some critical cases. In the clinical setting, we noted that patients undergoing extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) and with poor serum lact...

Authors: Takashi Mizutani, Norio Umemoto, Toshio Taniguchi, Hideki Ishii, Yuri Hiramatsu, Koji Arata, Horagaito Takuya, Sho Inoue, Tsuyoshi Sugiura, Toru Asai, Michiharu Yamada, Toyoaki Murohara and Kiyokazu Shimizu

Correction to: Clinical outcomes of patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction requiring the intensive care unit

In the original publication of this article [1], one author’s name was misspelling.

Authors: Ken Parhar, Victoria Millar, Vasileios Zochios, Emilia Bruton, Catherine Jaworski, Nick West and Alain Vuylsteke

Correction to: How to manage various arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in the cardiovascular intensive care

The author noted that major part of Acknowledgements section was inadvertently missing in the original article [1]. The new Acknowledgements can be found below.

Authors: Yoshinori Kobayashi

Heat stroke

Heat stroke is a life-threatening injury requiring neurocritical care; however, heat stroke has not been completely examined due to several possible reasons, such as no universally accepted definition or class...

Authors: Toru Hifumi, Yutaka Kondo, Keiki Shimizu and Yasufumi Miyake

A case of decompression illness not responding to hyperbaric oxygen

The case reinforces the importance of stepping back and looking at every possibility along with multiple co-existing pathologies. It takes into account the thought process of multiple systems and a multidiscip...

Authors: Asadullah Naqvi and Derrick Clarence

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: intensive care for improving neurological outcome

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is a life-threatening disease requiring neurocritical care. Delayed cerebral ischemia is a well-known complication that contributes to unfavorable neurological outcomes. Cere...

Authors: Tomoya Okazaki and Yasuhiro Kuroda

Self-reported fatigue following intensive care of chronically critically ill patients: a prospective cohort study

Protracted treatment on intensive care unit (ICU) sets the patients at increased risk for the development of chronic critical illness (CCI). Muscular and cardio-respiratory deconditioning are common long-term ...

Authors: Gloria-Beatrice Wintermann, Jenny Rosendahl, Kerstin Weidner, Bernhard Strauß, Andreas Hinz and Katja Petrowski

Accuracy of the first interpretation of early brain CT images for predicting the prognosis of post-cardiac arrest syndrome patients at the emergency department

Early brain CT is one of the most useful tools for estimating the prognosis in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) at the emergency department (ED). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prog...

Authors: Mitsuaki Nishikimi, Takayuki Ogura, Kota Matsui, Kunihiko Takahashi, Kenji Fukaya, Keibun Liu, Hideo Morita, Mitsunobu Nakamura, Shigeyuki Matsui and Naoyuki Matsuda

Correction to: Use of diaphragm thickening fraction combined with rapid shallow breathing index for predicting success of weaning from mechanical ventilator in medical patients

The original article [1] contained an error. The caption of Fig. 4 should be changed. The correct caption can be found below.

Authors: Pattarin Pirompanich and Sasithon Romsaiyut

Limitation of life support techniques at admission to the intensive care unit: a multicenter prospective cohort study

To determine the frequency of limitations on life support techniques (LLSTs) on admission to intensive care units (ICU), factors associated, and 30-day survival in patients with LLST on ICU admission.

Authors: Olga Rubio, Anna Arnau, Sílvia Cano, Carles Subirà, Begoña Balerdi, María Eugenía Perea, Miguel Fernández-Vivas, María Barber, Noemí Llamas, Susana Altaba, Ana Prieto, Vicente Gómez, Mar Martin, Marta Paz, Belen Quesada, Valentí Español…

How to manage various arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in the cardiovascular intensive care

In the clinical practice of cardiovascular critical care, we often observe a variety of arrhythmias in the patients either with (secondary) or without (idiopathic) underlying heart diseases. In this manuscript...

Authors: Yoshinori Kobayashi

Interleukin-6 is a key factor for immunoglobulin-like transcript-4-mediated immune injury in sepsis

ILT4⁺ monocytes seem to be associated with poor prognosis of sepsis in humans, but the exact mechanisms are unknown. This study aimed to examine the biological behaviors and effects of immunoglobulin-like transcr...

Authors: De Wen Zhang and Jian He

Hypomagnesemia in critically ill patients

Magnesium (Mg) is essential for life and plays a crucial role in several biochemical and physiological processes in the human body. Hypomagnesemia is common in all hospitalized patients, especially in critical...

Authors: Bent-Are Hansen and Øyvind Bruserud

Achieving the earliest possible reperfusion in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a current overview

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Appropriate management of ACS will lead to a lower incidence of cardiac arrest. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) ...

Authors: Takahiro Nakashima and Yoshio Tahara

Leukadherin-1 ameliorates endothelial barrier damage mediated by neutrophils from critically ill patients

Multi-organ failure occurs during critical illness and is mediated in part by destructive neutrophil-to-endothelial interactions. The β2 integrin receptor, CR3 (complement receptor 3; Mac-1; CD11b/CD18), which...

Authors: Catherine M. Dickinson, Brian W. LeBlanc, Muhammad M. Edhi, Daithi S. Heffernan, Mohd. Hafeez Faridi, Vineet Gupta, William G. Cioffi, Xian O’Brien and Jonathan S. Reichner

Regional overdistension during prone positioning in a patient with acute respiratory failure who was ventilated with a low tidal volume: a case report

Prone positioning may provide a uniform distribution of transpulmonary pressure and contribute to prevent ventilator-induced lung injury. However, despite moderate positive end-expiratory pressure and low tida...

Authors: Toru Kotani, Masanori Hanaoka, Shinya Hirahara, Hisashi Yamanaka, Eckhard Teschner and Atsuko Shono

Towards the second stage—Journal of Intensive Care

Authors: Hiroshi Morisaki

Seizure prophylaxis in the neuroscience intensive care unit

Seizures are a considerable complication in critically ill patients. Their incidence is significantly high in neurosciences intensive care unit patients. Seizure prophylaxis with anti-epileptic drugs is a comm...

Authors: Sushma Yerram, Nakul Katyal, Keerthivaas Premkumar, Premkumar Nattanmai and Christopher R. Newey

Management of patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism: a narrative review

High-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening disorder associated with high mortality and morbidity. Most deaths in patients with shock occur within the first few hours after presentation, and rapid ...

Authors: Takeshi Yamamoto

Management of acute aortic dissection and thoracic aortic rupture

Both acute aortic dissection and ruptured aortic aneurysm are leading causes of death in cardiovascular disease. These life-threatening conditions have recently been categorized as acute aortic syndrome. This ...

Authors: Toshihiro Fukui

Predictors associated with unplanned hospital readmission of medical and surgical intensive care unit survivors within 30 days of discharge

Reducing the 30-day unplanned hospital readmission rate is a goal for physicians and policymakers in order to improve quality of care. However, data on the readmission rate of critically ill patients in Japan ...

Authors: Tetsu Ohnuma, Daisuke Shinjo, Alan M. Brookhart and Kiyohide Fushimi

Effect of norepinephrine dosage on mortality in patients with septic shock

Use of high-dose norepinephrine is thought to have an immunosuppressive action that increases mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between norepinephrine dosage and prognosis of patients wit...

Authors: Hitoshi Yamamura, Yu Kawazoe, Kyohei Miyamoto, Tomonori Yamamoto, Yoshinori Ohta and Takeshi Morimoto

Intravenous immunoglobulin fails to improve ARDS in patients undergoing ECMO therapy

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with high mortality rates. ARDS patients suffer from severe hypoxemia, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy may be necessary to ensure...

Authors: Stefanie Prohaska, Andrea Schirner, Albina Bashota, Andreas Körner, Gunnar Blumenstock and Helene A. Haeberle

The safety of a novel early mobilization protocol conducted by ICU physicians: a prospective observational study

There are numerous barriers to early mobilization (EM) in a resource-limited intensive care unit (ICU) without a specialized team or an EM culture, regarding patient stability while critically ill or in the pr...

Authors: Keibun Liu, Takayuki Ogura, Kunihiko Takahashi, Mitsunobu Nakamura, Hiroaki Ohtake, Kenji Fujiduka, Emi Abe, Hitoshi Oosaki, Dai Miyazaki, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Mitsuaki Nishikimi, Alan Kawarai Lefor and Takashi Mato