Articles

ICU service in Taiwan

The aim of the study was to understand the current status of intensive care unit (ICU) in order to optimize the resources achieving the best possible care.

Authors: Kuo-Chen Cheng, Chin-Li Lu, Yueh-Chih Chung, Mei-Chen Huang, Hsiu-Nien Shen, Hsing-Min Chen and Haibo Zhang

Reviewer acknowledgement 2013

The editors of Journal of Intensive Care would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 1 (2013).

Authors: Satoshi Gando

Changes in endotracheal tube cuff pressure in mechanically ventilated adult patients

During mechanical ventilation, endotracheal tube cuff pressure should be maintained within proper range. We investigated the effect of frequent adjustment on cuff pressure in 27 mechanically ventilated patient...

Authors: Asuka Motoyama, Shota Asai, Hiroyuki Konami, Yuri Matsumoto, Takuyo Misumi, Hideaki Imanaka and Masaji Nishimura

Landiolol reduces hemodynamic responses to bronchoscopy-assisted suctioning in intubated ICU patients

Landiolol is an ultra-short-acting β₁-selective antagonist developed in Japan that was recently approved for the treatment of tachycardia in intensive care units (ICUs). This study investigated the protective eff...

Authors: Junpei Tochikubo, Yushi U Adachi, Tadashi Ejima, Atsushi Numaguchi, Naoyuki Matsuda, Shigehito Sato and Norihiko Shiiya

Evaluation of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation after extubation from moderate positive end-expiratory pressure level in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery: a prospective observational study

It remains to be clarified if the application of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is effective after extubation in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure who require the sufficient level o...

Authors: Takeshi Suzuki, Takuya Kurazumi, Shinya Toyonaga, Yuya Masuda, Yoshihisa Morita, Junichi Masuda, Shizuko Kosugi, Nobuyuki Katori and Hiroshi Morisaki

Respiratory support with nasal high-flow therapy helps to prevent recurrence of postoperative atelectasis: a case report

Postoperative atelectasis should be avoided in surgical patients with impaired pulmonary function. Nasal high-flow (NHF) therapy delivered by the Optiflow™ system (Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd., Auckland, Ne...

Authors: Yasuyuki Suzuki and Yasushi Takasaki

Update in acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by permeability pulmonary edema and refractory hypoxemia. Recently, the new definition of ARDS has been published, and this definition suggested seve...

Authors: Younsuck Koh

An analysis of the relationship between Glasgow Coma Scale score and plasma glucose level according to the severity of hypoglycemia

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of an individual with hypoglycemia is expected to be low due to an insufficient glucose supply to the brain. However, we sometimes encounter hypoglycemic patients with high G...

Authors: Atsushi Kotera, Shinsuke Iwashita, Hiroki Irie, Junichi Taniguchi, Shunji Kasaoka and Yoshihiro Kinoshita

Thrombocytopenia in adult patients with sepsis: incidence, risk factors, and its association with clinical outcome

Sepsis is a major risk factor for the development of thrombocytopenia, but few studies have specifically evaluated prognostic importance of thrombocytopenia in patients with sepsis. We investigated the inciden...

Authors: Chakradhar Venkata, Rahul Kashyap, J Christopher Farmer and Bekele Afessa

Erratum to: Temperature of gas delivered from ventilators

Authors: Yusuke Chikata, Masayo Izawa, Hideaki Imanaka, Nao Okuda and Masaji Nishimura

A comparison between dosages and plasma concentrations of dexmedetomidine in clinically ill patients: a prospective, observational, cohort study in Japan

Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective central α₂-agonist with anesthetic and analgesic properties for patients in intensive care units. There is little information about the relationship between dosage and plasma...

Authors: Yoshihito Fujita, Koichi Inoue, Tasuku Sakamoto, Saya Yoshizawa, Maiko Tomita, Yoshie Maeda, Hitomi Taka, Ai Muramatsu, Youichiro Hattori, Hiroyuki Hirate, Toshimasa Toyo'oka and Kazuya Sobue

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in critically ill patients and its influence on outcome: experience from a tertiary care centre in North India (an observational study)

Limited studies are available on prevalence and severity of vitamin D deficiency in a critically ill population. To the best of our knowledge, this the first study of its kind in an Indian intensive care set-up.

Authors: Afzal Azim, Armin Ahmed, Subhash Yadav, Arvind K Baronia, Mohan Gurjar, Madan M Godbole, Banani Poddar and Ratender K Singh

Neutrophil cell death in response to infection and its relation to coagulation

Neutrophil is a major player in the pathophysiology of severe sepsis. Recent studies have revealed that the cell death mechanism of neutrophils directly relates to the development of organ dysfunction during s...

Authors: Toshiaki Iba, Naoyuki Hashiguchi, Isao Nagaoka, Yoko Tabe and Miwa Murai

Effects of epinephrine administration in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest based on a propensity analysis

Epinephrine administration has been advocated for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for decades. Despite the fact that epinephrine administration during CPR is internationally accepted, the effects of the pr...

Authors: Mineji Hayakawa, Satoshi Gando, Hirotoshi Mizuno, Yasufumi Asai, Yasuo Shichinohe, Isao Takahashi and Hiroshi Makise

Limitations of global end-diastolic volume index as a parameter of cardiac preload in the early phase of severe sepsis: a subgroup analysis of a multicenter, prospective observational study

In patients with severe sepsis, depression of cardiac performance is common and is often associated with left ventricular (LV) dilatation to maintain stroke volume. Although it is essential to optimize cardiac...

Authors: Tomoyuki Endo, Shigeki Kushimoto, Satoshi Yamanouchi, Teruo Sakamoto, Hiroyasu Ishikura, Yasuhide Kitazawa, Yasuhiko Taira, Kazuo Okuchi, Takashi Tagami, Akihiro Watanabe, Junko Yamaguchi, Kazuhide Yoshikawa, Manabu Sugita, Yoichi Kase, Takashi Kanemura, Hiroyuki Takahashi…

Is wet swab superior to dry swab as an intranasal screening test?

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is still a great concern, and recognition of the carrier is essential for appropriate infection control in intensive care units. The utility of wet swab compared to dry...

Authors: Hideharu Hagiya, Mitsunobu Mio, Tomoko Murase, Keiko Egawa, Yumi Kokumai, Taeko Uchida, Naoki Morimoto, Fumio Otsuka and Sumiko Shiota

Subcutaneous emphysema and ultrasound sonography

Subcutaneous emphysema is not a rare complication in intensive care unit patients. Recently, ultrasound guidance for central venous puncture is becoming popular; however, the information on imaging for subcuta...

Authors: Toshi Kubodera, Yushi U Adachi, Toshiyuki Hatano, Tadashi Ejima, Atsushi Numaguchi and Naoyuki Matsuda

A case of Strongyloides hyperinfection associated with tuberculosis

Strongyloidiasis is a parasitic infection that occurs in tropical regions. Hyperinfection, which is an accelerated autoinfection, is often associated with an immunosuppressive state, such as HTLV-1 infection o...

Authors: Yoshiaki Iwashita, Kei Suzuki, Asami Masui, Eiji Kawamoto, Kazuto Yokoyama, Akitaka Yamamoto, Yukinari Omori, Ken Ishikura, Tsuyoshi Hatada, Masaki Fujioka, Taichi Takeda and Hiroshi Imai

Temperature of gas delivered from ventilators

Although heated humidifiers (HHs) are the most efficient humidifying device for mechanical ventilation, some HHs do not provide sufficient humidification when the inlet temperature to the water chamber is high...

Authors: Yusuke Chikata, Mutsuo Onodera, Hideaki Imanaka and Masaji Nishimura

Evaluating the fundamental critical care support course in critical care education in Japan: a survey of Japanese fundamental critical care support course experience

The Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) course has been introduced after minimal adaptation according to Japanese clinical settings. The original course in the USA is often used to prepare residents for r...

Authors: Kazuaki Atagi, Shinichi Nishi, Shigeki Fujitani, Takamitsu Kodama, Junya Ishikawa and Hideki Shimaoka

Efficacy of single-dose intravenous immunoglobulin administration for severe sepsis and septic shock

Although some studies conducted outside of Japan have addressed the effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) in treating infections, the dosing regimens and amounts used in Japan are very different ...

Authors: Nobuyuki Hamano, Kenichiro Nishi, Aki Onose, Akihisa Okamoto, Takeshi Umegaki, Etsuko Yamazaki, Kiichi Hirota, Hiroe Ookura, Hakuo Takahashi and Koh Shingu

Arbekacin treatment of a patient infected with a Pseudomonas putida producing a metallo-beta-lactamase

Treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas species is difficult because few antibiotics active against such organisms are available. Arbekacin, a relatively new aminoglycoside, is effective...

Authors: Yoshiaki Iwashita, Tomoyuki Enokiya, Kei Suzuki, Kazuto Yokoyama, Akitaka Yamamoto, Ken Ishikura, Masahiro Okuda and Hiroshi Imai

Evaluation of semi-quantitative scoring of Gram staining or semi-quantitative culture for the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia: a retrospective comparison with quantitative culture

Semi-quantitative Gram stain and culture methods are still commonly used for diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), due to its convenience. Only a few studies, however, have assessed the reliability...

Authors: Soshi Hashimoto and Nobuaki Shime

Journal of Intensive Care: a new journal for all intensive care physicians

Authors: Satoshi Gando