Active clinical trials for "Critical Illness"

Mechanical ventilation can be life saving strategy for patients with respiratory failure due to a variety of reasons. Once the underlying illness has resolved, intensive care doctors have to take a decision on when the patient is safe to get off the ventilator or be extubated. They use clinical assessment of the patient's ability to breathe spontaneously and make use of some breathing parameters to make the judgment. Most of the time, a patient can come off the ventilator and do well, but sometimes muscle weakness from sickness can affect the patient's ability to breathe adequately once ventilator support is discontinued. If that occurs, the patient may have to be put back on the ventilator and the physician will suggest some changes to help muscles get stronger. A simple, non-invasive test that can assess respiratory muscle state before taking patients off the ventilator to see if their muscles look healthy can help distinguish which patients may not be ready to be extubated. There are currently several tests available to assess muscle strength, in particular muscles that help in breathing like the intercostal muscles and diaphragm. The study will test the use of Ultrasonography (Ultrasound) as a non-invasive test to assess the muscles of respiration. This test will also help the investigators test physical therapies and interventions of mechanical ventilation that can help patients strengthen the muscles while waiting for extubation.

The combination of vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam has been associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in non-critically ill patient populations, but it is still unknown if this association exists in critically ill patients. The objective of this study is to compare AKI and efficacy of vancomycin plus piperacillin-tazobactam or beta-lactams.

Tracheostomy is an important tool in the management of respiratory failure in the critically ill patient under mechanical ventilation. Although mechanical ventilation can be a lifesaving intervention, it is also known to carry several side-effects and risks. Among the most frequent complications of mechanical ventilation, obstruction of the airway secondary to a mucus plug is both life threatening and a prevalent phenomenon related to mucociliary system dysfunction, artificial airway itself and the loss of strength that prevents adequate airway clearance. The main indication of tracheostomy is the need for prolonged mechanical ventilation that usually occurs in more severe patients, this circumstance having also been related to the development of intensive care unit (ICU) acquired weakness. Currently, the approach to secretion clearance in critical patients is focused on rehabilitation therapy and humidification. Hypertonic saline (HS) is largely used in cystic fibrosis to increase airways clearance while little evidence is available in other settings although promising results have been reported. In this sense, the use of HS could be beneficial in the prevention of airway obstruction in tracheostomized critical patients.

This is a prospective analysis of patient registry data of intensive care patients. The aim is to investigate if frailty is a predictor of decline of functional status of critically ill patients during their hospital stay.

This prospective observational cohort study will investigate the impact of a bundle of nine preventive measures (Assessment, prevention and management of pain; spontaneous awaking trial; spontaneous breathing trial; choice of sedation and analgesia; delirium assessment, prevention and management; early mobility; family communication and ICU Diary) on the incidence and severity of Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients

Improvements in medical care have led to decreasing mortality rates in critically ill children, which have been reported to be as low as 5%. However, surviving critical illness does not necessarily translate to a return to pre-critical illness functional and developmental levels. Adult literature has shown that critical illness increases functional disability for up to five years post intensive care unit stay. We hypothesize that children experience similar functional disabilities as a result of critical illness, which may, as in adults, be primarily due to muscle wasting. The aim of this prospective observational pilot study is establish the relationship between intensive care unit stay and functional outcomes in pediatric survivors of critical illness.

Patients with degreased (DGC) for ambiguous reasons receive low triage priority. Their death risk is triple. Tools are needed to identify the critically ill patients from this group. The triage used today is not effective. The bedside point-of-care measurements are CRP, lactate acid and suPAR (Soluble Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor). Elevated values associate with the probability of critical illness and predict a risk of death.

Study noise level in the ICU and its effect on both patients and healthcare personnel. Use music and study same effects on same patients and healthcare personnel.

When advanced disease progresses, there comes a time when an oncologists must explain to their patients that they only have months left to live. During these discussions the oncologist attempts to explain to the patient their prognoses and what it means for them going forward. However the investigator's prior studies shown that even when patients only have months left to live, most do not understand that their cancer is incurable and that it is late/end-stage. Dying cancer patients who fully understand their prognosis are able to make more informed decisions and are therefore more likely to engage in advanced care planning, and receive care what in consistent with their values and preferences. They are also in a better position to avoid burdensome, non-beneficial care. The investigator developed Oncolo-GIST in order to help increase the number of patients who fully understand their prognosis and its implications. Oncolo-GIST is an intervention aimed at enhancing clinicians' communication with patients by teaching them to relay information both sensitively and using simple terminology. The Oncolo-GIST training will provide instruction in areas such as how to introduce the topic of prognosis (describe scan results as "worse"), how to phrase the prognosis itself ("likely months, not years"), how to explain expected treatment outcomes (e.g., "not expected to be cured by treatment") and how to describe expected treatments impact on quality of life - that is, whether the anticancer treatment is likely to make them feel overall better or worse. The training materials consist of a manual and a set of videos that act out situations described in the manual. The first phase of this study will consists of two parts: Stakeholder Interviews: The investigator will obtain feedback from relevant stakeholders/key informants on Oncolo-GIST Version 1.0 manual and videos using a version of the Delphi method in which the investigator will interview bereaved family caregivers of advanced cancer patients (n=10) and oncology clinicians who care for patients with advanced gastrointestinal (GI) and thoracic (lung) cancers (n=10). The information gathered will be used to develop Oncolo-GIST Version 2.0. Open Trial: The investigator will conduct an initial open trial of the Oncolo-GIST intervention to 10 advanced cancer patients (N=10) by participant clinicians (n=8). This will help us gather information about the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention to patients and oncologists and also inform changes for Oncolo-GIST Version 2.0. This phase will be followed by second phased (listed in a separate record in ClinicalTrials.gov) that will include a randomized controlled trial of Oncolo-GIST Version 2.0. The record is titled "Giving Information Systematically and Transparently in Lung and GI Cancer Phase 2" and its NCT ID# isNCT04179305.

Critical illness myopathy and neuropathy are associated with prolonged mechanical ventilation, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality in intensive care units, .the investigators aimed to determine the decrease in muscle mass and risk factors that are important causes for the development of myopathy in COVID-19 (+) patients followed in intensive care unit. The study will also evaluate the relationships of patients withthe investigators intensive care-associated muscle weakness (ICU-AW) with other intensive care patient weight scores (SOFA, APACHE II, q SOFA). Sensitivity of anthropometric measurements and ultrasonographic measurements will be compared in the evaluation of sarcopenia. The length of hospital stay, mechanical ventilation time, patient outcomes (mortality/morbidity) information of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia followed in the intensive care unit will be evaluated.