Active clinical trials for "Critical Illness"

This study tests a pilot educational sleep intervention for children after critical care hospitalization.

The goal of this research project is to determine if different communication techniques during the consent process impact parental anxiety and comfort providing consent.

Unexpected intensive care unit (ICU) readmission is associated with longer length of stay and increased mortality. Bedside decision support may prevent readmission and mortality and may allow optimizing ICU capacity. Using a recently developed and prospectively validated machine learning model that predicts ICU readmission and mortality rate after ICU discharge and shows trends in these predictions over time, we will evaluate the implementation of the European conformity (CE)-marked software based on this model (Pacmed Critical, Pacmed, Amsterdam) by investigating whether the software improves diagnostic accuracy compared to routine clinical evaluation by the treatment team and whether availability of the information from this software leads to changes in discharge management (either postponing or advancing discharge) for patients considered eligible for discharge.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused high hospitalization and mortality rates especially in critically ill patients. Unfortunately, there is no present study with a large number of patients that would offer us clear answers on the treatment of ICU COVID-19 patients with adsorption filters, extracorporeal methods and the hemoperfusion method. The purpose of this registry study is to investigate the effectiveness and safety of the extracorporeal blood purification and hemoperfusion/hemadsorption filters in treating of critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Certain diseases relating to the heart can only be definitively treated with surgery. When untreated, these can lead to heart failure with a lack of supply of oxygen-rich blood to the tissues, leading to damage to other organs. Adults who undergo heart surgery vary greatly in terms of age and relative health. This has significant implications when predicting outcomes in the aftermath of surgery. For example, a 90-year-old man with a variety of comorbidities such as diabetes and high cholesterol who requires a heart valve replacement may have an unfavourable chance of surviving the postoperative period when compared to an 18-year-old woman with no significant medical history undergoing the same procedure. Almost invariably, patients are admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) following heart surgery. This is done to facilitate close monitoring of the patients' vital organ functions and to also provide organ support if needed. For the heart, this can include the administration of drugs to help a heart pump forcibly, cause blood vessels to contract and increase blood pressure. Patients who have undergone heart surgery have been placed on a mechanical ventilator, following a tube placed in their windpipe. This form of ventilation often continues in ICU for a period of time, depending on the patient's condition. One specific type of ICU level monitoring that occurs in patients who have undergone heart surgery is cardiac output monitoring. This involves a thin tube, called a pulmonary artery catheter, that extends from the skin to the heart, via large blood vessels. Cardiac output monitoring is essential in this patient group to guide organ support and to provide information of how well the heart is functioning. In this observational study, the investigators wish to study patients who have undergone cardiac surgery, are receiving mechanical ventilation and have pulmonary artery catheters inserted. The investigators will collect cardiopulmonary data in these patients and compare these data with values of exhaled and inhaled gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) over the same time period. This will enable the investigators to investigate the link between cardiopulmonary data and respired gas values. A better understanding of this link between cardiopulmonary function and oxygen/carbon dioxide values will then inform future studies aiming to determine the effect of various interventions in similar patient groups.

Intubation is a common procedure in the intensive care unit. Hypoxemia is the most frequent complication of this procedure. Monitoring the end-tidal of oxygen is recommended in operating room (OR). End-tidal of oxygen (EtO2) >90% is an indication of a correct preoxygenation. This monitoring is not used in routine in intensive care unit (ICU). There is no recommendation on the monitoring of end-tidal of oxygen in intensive care unit. In practice, clinicians use pulsed oxygen saturation (SpO2) to determine whether the patient is sufficiently preoxygenated. However, this parameter is not a good indicator of a correct preoxygenation. In the OR, patients are compliant during the preoxygenation period and the measure of EtO2 with the face mask monitor is considered reliable because i) mask leakage is minimal and ii) the patient can breathe slowly and regularly. Theses conditions are not available in critical ill patients requiring emergency intubation. EtO2 measured on the facemask may not reflect true EtO2. This concern about the reliability of EtO2 measurement via the facemask justifies that we conduct a study to compare EtO2 measured on a facemask (facemask EtO2) to EtO2 measured in pharynx (via e nasopharyngeal catheter). The aim of this study is to determine whether the measurement of EtO2 on facemask is reliable in patients in ICU.

Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction affects up to 50% of medical and surgical critically ill children. GI dysfunction, specifically gastric dysmotility and loss of epithelial barrier integrity, is associated with significant morbidity in critical illness. The mechanisms underlying GI dysfunction in critical illness are not well understood. GI dysfunction in surgery and critical illness has been associated with inflammation. There is evidence to suggest the protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) is a link between inflammation and GI dysfunction. PAR2 is a G-coupled receptor present throughout the GI tract. PAR2 mediates GI motility and epithelial barrier integrity. PAR2 is activated by PAR2 agonists, specifically GI serine proteases and zonulin, released under conditions of inflammation. In this study the investigators will examine the relationship between inflammation and PAR2 activation by PAR2 agonists and subsequent GI dysfunction in pediatric critically ill surgical patients. The overall hypothesis of this study is that PAR2 activation by PAR2 agonists, GI serine proteases and zonulin, released due to inflammation results in gastric dysmotility and loss of epithelial barrier integrity. In this study, the investigators will examine whether PAR2 agonist expression is increased and correlates with GI dysfunction in critically ill surgical pediatric patients. This proposal fills a knowledge gap in the understanding of mechanisms for GI dysfunction in critical illness, and will be applicable to all surgical and medical critically ill children.

Introduction: Physiotherapist usually uses a clinical examination, including auscultation, an analysis of blood gasses and chest imaging to determine the indication for chest physiotherapy, to choose the treatment protocol and evaluate the efficacy of the management. Lung ultrasound (LUS) presents greater accuracy than chest X-ray in the diagnosis of lung deficiencies interesting the physiotherapist. So, it could allow the physiotherapist to determine the indication for chest physiotherapy and thus avoid unnecessary or inappropriate treatments. No study has evaluated the impact of LUS on clinical decisions in chest physiotherapy in ICU patients. Objective: To evaluate the impact of using the results of lung and diaphragm US on clinical decisions in chest physiotherapy in hypoxemic patients hospitalized in ICU. Method: The physiotherapist carries out a clinical examination and analyses the complementary tests (chest X-ray, chest CT-scan and blood gasses if available). Following the examination, he will put forward one or several hypotheses concerning the respiratory deficiency and will confirm or not the indication for chest physiotherapy. If respiratory physiotherapy is indicated, the physiotherapist will specify the protocol. A lung and diaphragm US will be done following the evaluation of the clinical physiotherapist, and will make it possible to answer the question: are the results of the lung and diaphragm US compatible with the hypotheses put forward? The LUS report will be given to the clinical physiotherapist. He will specify the respiratory physiotherapy protocol according to the results of the US-scan. The modification of the clinical decision will be assessed with the Net Reclassification Index (NRI). Expected results: We expect that decisions for chest physiotherapy will be modified by LUS. The expected benefit for patients is therefore that they will be given a chest physiotherapy protocol that is better suited to the type of respiratory deficiency they are suffering from.

Concentrations and effects of anti-infectives in critically ill children are unpredictable and the risk of under-exposure may be associated with poor clinical outcomes. In addition, between-subject variability (BSV) is known to be substantial in critically ill children. Rationalisation of anti-infectives in children is therefore desirable. The investigators aim to investigate, using a population approach, the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of anti-infectives including PK/PD targets (fT(%) > minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)) and PD endpoints (clinical outcomes) in critically ill children. Covariates The effects of covariates on anti-infectives PK and PK/PDs are investigated in order to better explain the BSV and to ultimately suggest individualized dosage regimens. It will be a prospective PK study including 11 anti-infectives antibiotics. Six blood samples were taken from each patient during dosing interval. The primary PK/ PD targets were anti-infectives concentrations above the MIC of the pathogen at both 50% (50% f T>MIC) and 100% (100% f T>MIC) of the dosing interval. The investigators used skewed logistic regression to describe the effect of anti-infectives exposure on patient outcome.

Background Some critically ill children have malnutrition which may worsen while they are in hospital and delay their return home. They can recover faster when they are given tube feedings to improve their nutrition. Unfortunately, in the hospital these feedings are often interrupted and so these children do not get all the nutrition they need. The usual procedure is to set hourly rates for the tube feedings and to accept that they get less when feedings are interrupted. The researchers would like to test if children are fed better if the bedside nurses were to check the volume provided through the day and then ensure the child gets closer to the prescribed volumes. Aim To determine the feasibility of performing a Randomized Control Trial assessing the use of a Volume-based feeding algorithm in critically ill children admitted to the Alberta Children's Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Objectives Obtain information to inform sample size calculations for nutrition and clinical outcomes for a larger RCT: energy adequacy and protein adequacy, feed tolerance, infections, changes in anthropometric measurements at transitions of care, 28-day ventilator free days, length of stay, 60-day mortality, and 60-day hospital readmission? Assess adherence of medical staff to the study protocol Evaluate the timing of study enrollment and participant allocation Evaluate the proposed deferred consent strategy. Methods The researchers will conduct a randomized control feasibility trial of critically ill children admitted to the Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH) Pediatric Intensive Care unit who require tube feedings. Children will be randomly assigned to the intervention arm (Volume-based algorithm) or the comparison arm (rate-based algorithm). Significance The proposed study will provide evidence of whether a novel approach to feeding critically ill children is feasible during PICU admission. This trial will inform a larger Randomized Control Trial on this topic that will assess if using a Volume-based feeding algorithm will improve outcomes of clinical importance including energy adequacy, protein adequacy, feed tolerance, infections, changes in anthropometric measurements at transitions of care, 28-day ventilator free days, length of stay in PICU and hospital, 60-day mortality, and 60-day hospital readmission.