Active clinical trials for "Critical Illness"

Relative glutamine (GLN) deficiency may contribute to morbidity and mortality in surgical intensive care unit (SICU) patients. During critical illness, GLN utilization by the immune system, gut mucosa and other tissues exceeds endogenous production and plasma GLN concentrations decrease, which may contribute to cellular dysfunction and increase nosocomial infection risk and mortality. Conventional GLN-free parenteral nutrition (PN) has a limited impact on SICU outcomes and does not repair the GLN deficit. Recent pilot data show that GLN dipeptide-supplemented PN decreases nosocomial infections and improves clinical outcomes in SICU patients. The process of benefit is poorly understood, but animal and human data suggest that GLN treatment correlates with a) up-regulation of cytoprotective molecules in blood and tissues [e.g, GSH, specific heat shock proteins (HSPs) and GLN]; and b) improved epithelial barrier defenses and immune cell number and function. Properties of L-GLN limit provision in solution, but the GLN dipeptide alanyl-GLN (AG) confers stability and solubility in PN (AG-PN). Investigators propose a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, controlled phase III trial based on our pilot data to test the hypothesis that AG-PN improves clinical outcomes in SICU patients requiring PN after cardiac, vascular or colonic operations. Subjects will receive either standard GLN-free PN or isocaloric, isonitrogenous, AG-PN until enteral feeds are established. Specific Aim 1 is to determine whether AG-PN decreases hospital mortality, nosocomial infection and other important indices of morbidity. Specific Aim 2 is to obtain novel, mechanistically relevant observational data in the Aim 1 subjects on whether AG-PN a) increases serial blood levels of GSH, HSP-70 and -27, and GLN; b) decreases the presence in serum of the bacterial products flagellin and LPS and the adaptive immune response to these mediators; and c) improves key indices of innate/adaptive immunity. This study is designed to delineate the clinical benefit of a major new nutrition support strategy in high-risk SICU patients. .

In a previous study, we showed that tight blood glucose control with insulin during intensive care reduced morbidity and mortality of surgical intensive care patients. Whether this intervention also improves prognosis of medical intensive care patients remains unknown. The current prospective, randomized, controlled study will assess the impact of intensive insulin therapy on the outcome of patients in a medical intensive care unit. On admission, patients will be randomly assigned to either strict normalization of blood glucose (80-110 mg/dl) with intensive insulin therapy or the conventional approach, in which insulin infusion is initiated only when blood glucose exceeds 215 mg/dl, to maintain blood glucose levels between 180 and 200 mg/dl.

Critically ill patients who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are the sickest in the hospital. More patients are surviving but survivors have compromised functional recovery for months or years. This trial aims to determine if early, physical training commenced within 48 hours of ECMO is feasible and improves muscle strength and functional status in patients compared to standard practice in a randomised controlled trial of 30 ICU patients.

Due to an accident, pneumonia or surgery, patients can have severe shortness of breath or lung damage to such an extent that it compromises vital functions. At such times, mechanical ventilation can be lifesaving. The ventilator temporarily takes over the function of the respiratory muscles to ensure adequate uptake of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide. Mechanical ventilation can usually be stopped quickly after the initial disease has been treated. Unfortunately, in up to 25-40% of ventilated patients it takes several days to weeks before mechanical ventilation can be discontinued, even after treatment of the initial disease. This phenomenon is termed weaning failure. Weakness of the respiratory muscles, such as the diaphragm, is one of the leading causes of weaning failure. Like other skeletal muscles, the diaphragm can become weakened if it is used too little. This happens often during mechanical ventilation because of excessive assistance provided by the ventilator or use of sedative medication. Excessive activity of the diaphragm can also lead to damage and weakness, just like in other muscles that have to perform excessive amounts for a prolonged period of time. Additionally, excessive work by the diaphragm might have a direct damaging effect on the lungs, which leads to a vicious cycle. As such, it is very important to find a balance between resting the diaphragm (which may lead to weakness) and placing excessive work on the diaphragm (which can damage the diaphragm and possibly the lungs). In this study, the investigators want to test whether insufficient activity and excessive activity of the diaphragm during mechanical ventilation can be prevented or reduced. The investigators plan to measure the diaphragm activity in 40 participants on mechanical ventilation. Participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. In the intervention group, ventilator support levels will be adjusted according to the observed diaphragm activity, in an attempt to ensure adequate diaphragm activity. The control group receives usual care. The hypothesis is that adjusting the level of support provided by the ventilator is a feasible method to improve the time that the diaphragm operates within acceptable levels of activity over a 24 hour period.

The effects of colostrum on intestinal permeability in critical ill patients has not been investigated. In current trial, intensive care unit patients with enteral feeding will receive either enteral colostrum or maltodextrin as placebo.

Glutamine-induced recovery in intestinal barrier function by reducing bacterial translocation was demonstrated in previous studies. In this trial, intensive care unit patients with enteral feeding will receive either enteral glutamine or maltodextrin as placebo for 10 days and the effects of the intervention on intestinal permeability will be assessed.

Systematic evaluation of pain, agitation and delirium in ICU-patients is recommended and deep sedation should be avoided. Sedation is still monitored with clinical assessments, like RASS. The Responsiveness Index (RI) is a recently described method for ICU sedation monitoring. It is based on processed frontal EMG and reflects the interaction between a patient's conscious state and the intensity and frequency of stimulations during treatment. RI has not been randomly compared to RASS to titrate sedation to target at a clinically adequate sedation state. In this open randomized controlled pilot study of 32 critically ill, mechanically ventilated adult patients, investigators will evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of RI based sedation compared to standard RASS based titration of sedation. Investigators hypothesize first that RI controlled sedation will be safe and, second that RI controlled sedation will associate with increased number of ventilator free days alive in 30 days without excess adverse events.

Prospective multi-center phase 2b randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded interventional platform trial of two different pharmacologic therapies (intravenous Vitamin C or intravenous Acetaminophen) for patients with sepsis-induced hypotension or respiratory failure.

Adequate nutritional support is an essential element for achieving favourable outcomes in critically ill patients. Therefore, an accurate determination of patients' energy needs is required to optimize nutritional support and reduce the harmful effects of under- and over-feeding. Currently, indirect calorimetry is considered as a gold standard for measuring energy expenditure during critical illness. This randomized study aims to investigate the impact of indirect calorimetry guided nutrition therapy on clinical outcomes such as ICU. Mortality, hospital mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of I.C.U./hospital stay and mascle wasting. The investigators hypothesis that nutrition therapy guided by IC will improve clinical outcomes in severely ill patients

In the ER of National Taiwan University Hospital, the critical patients are treated (including tracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in either resuscitation area or negative pressure isolation rooms based on the past history and present illness. During COVID-19 epidemic, whether sequential changes in environmental and personal protective equipment would change the difference of treatment efficacy and patient safety remains unclear. Whether treating patients in resuscitation area or negative pressure isolation room would cause different physical and psychological stress of medical staff and environmental contamination is also unknown. This study aims to conduct a prospective sequential allocation clinical trial to investigate the success rate, patient safety, physical and psychological stress of medical staff, and the risk of environmental contamination of tracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation between the resuscitation area and negative pressure isolation room. The results of the study may be used to improve the protocol and protective policy in treating critical patients during an epidemic.