Active clinical trials for "Shock"

The present study was conducted as a prospective, randomized, controlled study to compare: the effects of norepinephrine and phenylephrine on systemic and regional hemodynamics in patients with catecholamine-dependent septic shock to test the hypothesis that norepinephrine may likewise better preserve hepatosplanchnic perfusion versus phenylephrine in patients suffering from septic shock

Background: Omalizumab is an approved drug for the treatment of asthma by the Food and Drug Administration. Researchers are now studying this drug in a double-blind placebo-controlled manner to assess efficacy in patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis (recurrent hypersensitive allergic episodes for which a cause is not identified). The study will improve understanding of the mechanisms involved in anaphylactic reactions as a response to the downregulation (a decrease in the number of receptors on the surface of cells) in mast cell (a resident cell with several types of tissues) activation, and lead to the development of strategies to better prevent or treat anaphylaxis. Objectives: To determine whether treatment with omalizumab will reduce or prevent episodes of unprovoked anaphylaxis (an acute allergic reaction) in subjects with a history of idiopathic anaphylaxis. To assess pharmacodynamics (physiological effects of a drug) and identify patients with undiagnosed mastocytosis (rare disorders caused by too many mast cells). To investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms of signaling and the effect of omalizumab on mast cells or basophils (a cell in the leukocyte family that releases histamine, which affects allergic response) and explore other regulatory pathways that may be involved with modulation of mast cell degranulation. Eligibility: Patients between 18 and 70 years of age who have been diagnosed with idiopathic anaphylaxis, a diagnosis that is made only after other causes of anaphylaxis have been considered. Patients with documented anaphylaxis episodes (mild to severe) at least six times within the past 1 year period, at least once within the last 4 months, and with at least one of the following: Elevated serum tryptase above baseline within 2 hours of the event. Emergency room visit with documented anaphylaxis without a known cause established by the acute onset of an illness (minutes to several hours) with involvement of the skin, mucosal tissue, or both (generalized hives, itching or flushing, swollen lips-tongue-throat) and at least one of the following: (1) respiratory compromise or gastrointestinal involvement (shortness of breath, wheeze-bronchospasm, throat tightness, low oxygen levels, nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain); or (2) reduced blood pressure or associated symptoms of end-organ dysfunction (collapse, loss of consciousness, or loss of bladder or bowel control). Hospitalization for anaphylaxis. Patients must provide a letter of referral, with copies of pertinent medical history and laboratory tests, from the prospective participant s local physician, and have the ability to give informed consent. Women with childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test, and must agree to practice abstinence or effective birth control from the start of the protocol and for 3 months following the last injection of the study drug. Design: Participants will undergo a clinical evaluation, blood tests, and a bone marrow biopsy and aspirate. Participants will be randomized to either drug or placebo and will receive two doses of omalizumab or a matched placebo while hospitalized, followed by continued outpatient therapy, every 2 to 4 weeks, for up to 6 months. Participants will remain on the assigned regimen for 6 months or until they have experienced new onset of severe adverse event on one occasion within 24 hours of study medication that are related to the study drug, whichever comes first. At that time, the participant will be discontinued from drug administration.

The efficacy and tolerability of norepinephrine and epinephrine in cardiogenic shock after reperfused myocardial infarction will be compared, by following cardiac index evolution as main criteria. The study is a pilot pathophysiological study, randomized, double blind and multicenter.

Septic shock is the most common cause of death in patients requiring intensive care. The kidney is one of the first organs to fail, stressing the importance to search for clinical interventions that may protect the kidneys during sepsis. Alkaline phosphatase functions as a host defence molecule and is present in many cells and organs (e.g. intestine, placenta, liver, kidney and bone). Alkaline phosphatase has a dual mode of action. First, it binds to and, subsequently, dephosphorylates lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Second, the enzymatic reaction product monophosphoryl-LPS is a non-toxic substance for mammals which acts as a partial antagonist on the LPS receptor complex. In several animal studies, administration of alkaline phosphatase attenuates the inflammatory response and reduces mortality. It is unknown whether these results can be extrapolated to septic patients . We studied the effects of alkaline phosphatse administration on kidney damage and function in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.

The purpose of this study : 1）to determine whether hydrocortisone is effective in the treatment of septic shock and 2) to identify the role of timing of low dose hydrocortisone administration in septic shock patients.

The Oxiris® filter is a registered product for CRRT already safely used in routine care. In in vitro experiments, the Oxiris® filter has been demonstrated to adsorb endotoxin and cytokines. Compared to conventional filters this may be advantageous in patients with severe sepsis but neither decreased levels of endotoxin and cytokines nor an improved outcome has been demonstrated with clinical use. But there are so far little clinical data on the oXiris® filter on humans. The oXiris® filter will be investigated in a double blind randomized crossover setting against a traditional filter (ST150). Either filter will be used for 24 hours after which it will be changed to the opposite filter for another 24 hours. Arterial blood samples will be drawn at start and then 1, 3, 8, 16 and 24 hours after the start of each filter, and analyzed for endotoxin (EAA assay), TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 (ELISA) levels. Standard blood tests will be analyzed simultaneously. Data concerning mode and settings of CRRT, heart rate, blood pressure, medication, data concerning ventilatory support and pathogen will be registered. Primary endpoint: Levels of endotoxin and cytokines will be compared using Student's paired t-test on AUC values for each 24-hour period.

The purpose of the SQUEEZE Trial is to determine which fluid resuscitation strategy results in the best outcomes for children treated for suspected or confirmed septic shock. In this study, eligible children will be randomized to either the 'Usual Care Arm' or the 'Fluid Sparing Arm'. Children will receive treatment according to current ACCM Septic Shock Resuscitation Guidelines, with the assigned resuscitation strategy used to guide administration of further fluid boluses as well as the timing of initiation and escalation of vasoactive medications to achieve ACCM recommended hemodynamic targets.

It has been well established that only 40 to 60% of the patients hospitalized for inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) positively respond to volume expansion (VE). The fluid responsiveness is usually estimated by assessing VE-induced change in stroke volume (SV). To guide prescriptions and possibly avoid deleterious effects of inappropriate VE, several clinical studies demonstrated that invasive dynamic indices based on heart-lung interactions permit an accurate prediction of the hemodynamic effects induced by VE. Mechanical ventilation induces cyclic changes in intrathoracic and transpulmonary pressures that transiently affect venous return, right and left ventricular preload, resulting in pronounced cyclic changes in SV in preload-dependent, but not in preload-independent patients. These cyclic changes in SV can be evaluated by the cyclic changes in arterial pulse pressure. Several studies have shown that pulse pressure variation is able to predict fluid responsiveness in patients in the operating room and intensive care unit (ICU). However, this technique requires percutaneous arterial catheterization, which is associated with several rare but serious complications (thrombosis, infections, pseudoaneurysm,hematoma, and bleeding). A method for assessing noninvasive arterial blood pressure using an electropneumatic control loop was introduced by Penaz in 1973. Briefly, the blood volume in a finger is measured and kept constant by applying corresponding external pressure. The continuously changing external pressure needed to keep the volume constant directly corresponds to the arterial pressure and, therefore can be used as continuous measurement of arterial blood pressure. Numerous studies evaluating the accuracy of this technology, e.g., Finapres™ (Ohmeda Monitoring Systems, Englewood, CO), and more recently of the Infinity CNAP™ SmartPod (Dräger Medical AG & Co.KG, Lübeck, Germany). The basic operating principle of the CNAP™ is similar to the Finapres™, but CNAP™ uses multiple control loops. It has recently been shown that CNAP provides real-time estimates of mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) comparable with those measured by an invasive intraarterial catheter system during general anaesthesia. The accuracy of the measures and the respiratory variations in pulse pressure obtained with the CNAP system have not yet been studied in ICU.

Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is a severe condition with high morbidity and mortality from the hosts overwhelming inflammatory response and cytokine storm. Staphylococcal superantigen toxins are the main causative agents. Toxic shock syndrome toxin (TSST-1) being responsible for almost all of menstruation associated and more than 50% of all other cases. There is no specific therapy. The aim of this study is to extend the safety and tolerability of two doses of the BioMed recombinant toxic shock syndrome toxin (rTSST-1) Variant Vaccine after one to three vaccinations in healthy adults. The second aim of the study is to measure immunogenicity and persistence of antibodies which produced in response to treatment with the BioMed rTSST-1 Variant Vaccine over a period of 12 months. These antibodies are expected to be important in prevention and mitigation of the diseases. 140 healthy adults, male and female, age 18-64 years will be assigned to 7 groups comprising two doses of the vaccine or adjuvant at the Department of Clinical Pharmacology of the Medical University of Vienna. The patients will be monitored for vital signs, hematology, clinical chemistry, and antibodies against TSST-1. Immunization will be repeated 3 months after the first with the same dose and 6 months after the second immunization in the respective groups. Antibodies will be determined through monitoring TSST-1 binding antibodies as assessed through ELISA and neutralizing antibodies (exploratory endpoint) as assessed by inhibition of T cell activation (3H Thymidine incorporation; ≥ 50%).

Sepsis and septic shock are still important causes of mortality in intensive care medicine. Renal replacement therapy by standard volume haemofiltration is currently used, but a higher-volume haemofiltration may improve the prognosis. The study is a prospective randomized multicenter trial comparing two treatments in patients suffering from septic shock complicated with acute renal failure admitted to ICU. One group will be treated by early high volume haemofiltration (70 ml/kg/h) and the second group by standard volume haemofiltration (35 ml/kg/h). The main outcome will be one-month mortality.