Active clinical trials for "Critical Illness"

During the last 2 decades, the management of hyperglycemia in critically ill patients has become one of the most discussed topics in the intensive-care field. The initial data suggesting significant benefit from the normalization of blood glucose levels in critically ill patients using intensive intravenous insulin therapy (Van den Berghe G et al. N Engl J Med. 2001) has been tempered by later studies (Finfer S et al. N Engl J Med. 2009). Some studies suggested that strict blood glucose control might benefit in non-diabetic patient and worsen outcomes in diabetics. We hypothesized that an individualized blood glucose target based on glycated hemoglobin measured at ICU admission would improve outcome when compared to a standard care of maintaining blood glucose bellow 10 mmol/l (180 mg/dl). We designed a randomized double blinded study in which Blood glucose control is piloted in both groups by a web-guided protocol that directly gives instruction to nurses (https://extranet.chu-lyon.fr/cpg). The study will enroll 4200 patients in 10 centers. Primary end point is 90 d outcome after randomization.

Background Intraoperative hypotension is a common problem that significantly contributes to perioperative mortality and morbidity. At the moment the "gold standard" for perioperative fluid management is the so called "goal-directed therapy" that features fluid resuscitation followed if necessary catecholamines if needed for perioperative cardiocirculatory support. Worldwide the so called "physiological" sodium chlorid (0.9% NaCl) solution is the most often used infusate for perioperative fluid management. Despite its widespread use physiological saline has its major disadvantages such as the increased incidence of metabolic acidosis. Nevertheless catecholamines have their significant side effects as well (eg diminished renal perfusion, increased cardiovascular morbidity) and they therefore should be used with caution. In a prior study by group members on patients undergoing renal transplantation receiving either physiological saline or an acetate-buffered infusate showed a 50% decrease in catecholamine necessity in the acetate-buffered infusate group. The investigators therefore would like to evaluate the effects of the perioperative fluid choice on the necessity of catecholamine use. Aim Evaluation of the perioperative fluid choice on the necessity of catecholamines for cardiocirculatory support. Description of the relationship between perioperative fluid choice and minimal blood pressure as well as the time to catecholamine use and their dosage. Methods The investigators plan a prospective randomized-controlled trial of all patients undergoing major abdominal surgery at the Vienna General Hospital and Medical University of Vienna. Fluid management and catecholamine use will be based on a oesophageal Doppler -based treatment scheme.

The purpose of this study is to test the hypotheses that argatroban significantly increases efficacy and safety of renal replacement therapy measured as life time of haemodialysis filters as compared to lepirudin

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effects of a personalized oral diet in the critically ill patients during ICU stay and after as compared usual oral diet.

The investigators hypothesize that those with respiratory failure due to COVID-19 will have different burdens of mental and physical disability than those with respiratory failure who do not have COVID-19. Detecting these potential differences will lay an important foundation for treating long term sequelae of respiratory failure in these two cohorts.

Introduction: Venous thrombosis (VTE), including both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) remains a frequent complication in patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Multiple prediction models for estimating the risk of VTE have been developed. However, many models have not been externally validated. The aim of this study is to perform a comprehensive external validation of pre-existing prediction models for predicting the risk of in-hospital VTE in critically ill patients. In case current risk assessment models fail, the investigators aim to additionally develop and internally validate a new risk prediction model. Methods: During the first phase of the study the investigators will perform external validation of existing prediction models. The performance, discrimination, calibration and clinical usefulness of the models will be evaluated. In the second phase of the study, in case performance of current risk assessment models is deemed insufficient for clinical application, the investigators will develop a model for predicting the risk of in-hospital VTE in critically ill patients. A multivariable prediction model will be constructed using a combination of predefined candidate predictors. This model will be internally validated and performance will be compared with performance of existing VTE risk prediction models. Dissemination: This protocol will be published online. This study will be reported according to the Transparent reporting of a multivariable prediction model for individual prognosis or diagnosis (TRIPOD) statement and this study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

The purpose of this study is to find out whether homeopathic potassium dichromate will decrease the time on the breathing machine and the amount of phlegm that you produce in your lungs. In addition, this study will look at whether participants spend less time in a critical care unit and if the chances of being placed back on a breathing machine can be lessened.

Survivors of critical illness might suffer from ongoing physical, cognitive and emotional impairments after being discharged home. Furthermore, several studies have shown that these patients might have a need for ongoing support. However, up until now, it is not known what the optimal follow-up programme for survivor of critical illness after discharge home should look like or which exact patient population would benefit the most. Due to these reasons, it is important to further investigate, how these patients can be optimally supported to recover from their critical illness. The primary aim of this study is to assess, whether a physiotherapy-led follow-up programme is feasible in adult survivors of critical illness after discharge home in the county hospital of Winterthur. Furthermore, the investigators evaluate the influence of this physiotherapy-led follow-up programme on health related quality of life, exercise capacity, general muscle strength, inspiratory muscle strength, anxiety and depression. All of the anticipated 20 patients will partake in the follow-up programme, which will consist out of a nine weeks exercise programme and four education sessions. During the exercise programme, the patients will exercise twice per week under supervision and once by themselves. The supervised exercise sessions will consist out of a combination of a cardiopulmonary and strength training and the unsupervised session will be a physical activity, which the participants like doing. Furthermore, they will participate in education sessions, where they learn things about the intensive care unit, the post-intensive care syndrome, relaxation techniques and how to carry on with exercising. The whole study will last about ten months and forms a part of a master thesis.

This study will use point of care (POC) gastric ultrasound to confirm that nasojejunal tube (NJ) feeds result in minimal to no gastric content and therefore are low risk for aspiration and should be allowed at the very least to decrease the time that enteral feeds need to be held prior to a procedure or if they need to be held at all. This would allow critically ill children to receive the nutrition that they need to heal for longer periods of time. Using ultrasound would also potentially eliminate the need for exposure to x-rays to confirm tube placement. Most ICUs have a POC ultrasound machine so this would be any easy tool to access to improve patient care.

Orotracheal extubation consists in the removal of the endotracheal tube (ETT) when it is no longer required. This procedure may carry a considerable risk of complications and extubation failure. The literature points out two methods of extubation: the traditional method and the positive pressure method. In a noninferiority clinical trial it was demonstrated that EOT with positive pressure and without endotracheal suction was a safe technique and could be better than traditional extubation. Although prior studies reported better clinical outcomes with the positive pressure extubation technique, its superiority has not been deeply studied yet. Therefore, the objective of our study is to determine whether the positive pressure OTE technique, compared with the traditional OTE technique, reduces the incidence of major postextubation complications (up to 60 minutes) in critically ill adult patients.