Aim: Compare two vancomycin dosing strategies in critical patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, considering the heterogeneity of the dosing regimens administered and their implications for toxicity and efficacy. Materials & methods: Longitudinal retrospective observational study in two patient cohorts (standard dosing vs dosing via Bayesian algorithms). Results: The group of Bayesian algorithms received substantially higher and significantly heterogeneous doses, with an absence of nephrotoxicity. The speed of decrease observed in CRP and PCT was greater for the Bayesian strategy (p = 0.045 and 0.0009, respectively). Conclusion: Applying Bayesian algorithms to vancomycin dosage individualization allows for administering much higher doses than with standard regimens, facilitating a quicker clinical response in the absence of nephrotoxicity.
[Box: see text].

UNASSIGNED: Serum ferritin (SF) is clinically found to be elevated in many disease conditions, and our research examines serum ferritin in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) and its implication on the risk of short-term mortality in AKI.
UNASSIGNED: Data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV 2.2 (MIMIC-IV 2.2) database. Adult patients with AKI who had serum ferritin tested on the first day of ICU admission were included. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards models were used to test the relationship between SF and clinical outcomes. Subgroup analyses based on the Cox model were further conducted.
UNASSIGNED: Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that a higher SF value was significantly associated with an enhanced risk of 28-day mortality, 90-day mortality, ICU mortality and hospital mortality (log-rank test: p < 0.001 for all clinical outcomes). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high level of SF with mortality was significantly positive in all four outcome events (all p < 0.001). This result remains robust after adjusting for all variables. Subgroup analysis of SF with 28-day mortality based on Cox model-4 showed that high level of SF was associated with high risk of 28-day mortality in patients regardless of the presence or absence of sepsis (p for interaction = 0.730). Positive correlations of SF and 28-day mortality were confirmed in all other subgroups (p for interaction>0.05).
UNASSIGNED: High level of SF is an independent prognostic predictor of 28-day mortality in patients with AKI.

The severity of the critically ill patient, the practice of diagnostic procedures and invasive treatments, the high number of drugs administered, a high volume of data generated during the care of the critically ill patient along with a technical work environment, the stress and workload of work of professionals, are circumstances that favor the appearance of errors, turning Intensive Medicine Services into risk areas for adverse events to occur. Knowing their epidemiology is the first step to improve the safety of the care we provide to our patients, because it allows us to identify risk areas, analyze them and develop strategies to prevent the adverse events, or if this is not possible, be able to manage them. This article analyzes the main studies published to date on incidents related to safety in the field of critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to construct an enteral nutrition evaluation system for critically ill patients using the Delphi method to direct the formulation of enteral nutrition support strategies and reduce interruption to enteral feeding.
METHODS: We used domestic and foreign databases to obtain and analyze the literature and form \"The Whole-Proceeding Enteral Nutrition Evaluation System for Critically Ill Patients.\" The Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of expert opinion consultation, combined with the suggestions from the research group to finalize the nutrition evaluation content of the system.
RESULTS: After two rounds of expert consultation, a nutrition evaluation system was formed around three dimensions: before the start, during, and after the end of nutritional support. The effective recovery rates of the two rounds of expert consultation were 90.0% (18/20) and 100.0% (18/18), respectively. Authority coefficients were 0.865 and 0.908, while Kendall coordination coefficients were 0.108 ( P < 0.05) and 0.115 ( P < 0.001), respectively. Finally, the full enteral nutrition evaluation system for critically ill patients was constructed based on the Delphi method, including three primary items and seven secondary and 28 tertiary indicators.
CONCLUSIONS: The established \"Whole-Proceeding Enteral Nutrition Evaluation System for Critically Ill Patients\" has high consistency from expert opinions and reliability, which can provide a practical evaluation tool for the process of enteral nutrition for severe patients.

Regional Citrate Anticoagulation (RCA) is considered the first-line anticoagulation for Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy (CKRT). The RCA requires strict protocols and trained staff to avoid unsafe use and ensure its benefit. We have analyzed all our CKRT prescriptions from December 2020 to April 2022 anonymously, collecting data on CKRT, lab tests, clinical conditions, and complications of RCA. In addition, in order to better detect citrate accumulation, we have performed an RCA protocol by reducing the CaTot/Ca2+ ratio cut-off from 2.50 to 2.40 and increasing the number of calcium checks according to its trend. Among the 374 patients in CKRT, 104 received RCA prescriptions, of which 11 (10.6%) were discontinued: 4 for the suspicion of citrate accumulation, 1 for the development of metabolic alkalosis, 1 for the shift to a different CKRT procedure due to the need for a higher bicarbonate dose, 4 for the elevation of hepatocytolysis indexes, and 1 due to a preemptive discontinuation following massive post-surgery bleeding. None of the patients have had citrate toxicity as indicated by a CaTot/Ca2+ greater than 2.50, and our protocol has allowed the early identification of patients who might develop clinical citrate toxicity.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical procedures in critically ill patients with spondylodiscitis are challenging and there are several controversies. Here, we present our experience with offering surgical intervention early in critically ill septic patients with spondylodiscitis.
METHODS: After we introduced a new treatment paradigm offering early but limited surgery, eight patients with spondylodiscitis complicated by severe sepsis and multiple organ failure underwent urgent surgical treatment over a 10-year period. Outcome was assessed according to the Barthel index at 12-month follow-up and at the last available follow-up (mean 89 months).
RESULTS: There were 7 men and 1 woman, with a mean age of 62 years. The preoperative ASA score was 5 in 2 patients, and 4 in 6 patients. Six of them presented with high-grade paresis, and in all of them, spondylodiscitis with intraspinal and/or paravertebral abscesses was evident in MR imaging studies. All patients underwent early surgery (within 24 h after admission). The median time in intensive care was 21 days. Out of the eight patients, seven survived. One year after surgery, five patients had a good outcome (Barthel index: 100 (1); 80 (3); and 70 (1)). At the last follow-up (mean 89 months), 4 patients had a good functional outcome (Barthel index between 60 and 80).
CONCLUSIONS: Early surgical treatment in critically ill patients with spondylodiscitis and sepsis may result in rapid control of infection and can provide favorable long-term outcome. A general strategy of performing only limited surgery is a valid option in such patients who have a relatively high risk for surgery.

To assess the impact of a multimodal interventional project (\"Zero Resistance\") on the acquisition of multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDR-B) during the patient\'s ICU stay.
Prospective, open-label, interventional, multicenter study.
103 ICUs.
Critically ill patients admitted to the ICUs over a 27-month period.
Implementation of a bundle of 10 recommendations to prevent emergence and spread of MDR-B in the ICU.
Rate of patients acquiring MDR-B during their ICU stay, with differentiation between colonization and infection.
A total of 139,505 patients were included. In 5409 (3.9%) patients, 6020 MDR-B on ICU admission were identified, and in 3648 (2.6%) patients, 4269 new MDR-B during ICU stay were isolated. The rate of patients with MDR-B detected on admission increased significantly (IRR 1.43, 95% CI 1.31-1.56) (p<0.001) during the study period, with an increase of 32.2% between the initial and final monthly rates. On the contrary, the rate of patients with MDR-B during ICU stay decreased non-significantly (IRR 0.93, 95% CI 0.83-1.03) (p=0.174), with a 24.9% decrease between initial and final monthly rates. According to the classification into colonization or infection, there was a highly significant increase of MDR-B colonizations detected on admission (IRR 1.69, 95% CI 1.52-1.83; p<0.0001) and a very significant decrease of MDR-B-infections during ICU stay (IRR 0.67, 95% CI 0.57-0.80, p<0.0001).
The implementation of ZR project-recommendations was associated with a significantly reduction an infection produced by MDR-B acquired during the patient\'s ICU stay.

UNASSIGNED: The aim of the study was evaluate the variability of the vital signs of patients hospitalized in intensive care unit (ICU) before, during and after bed bathing. Secondly to evaluate the possible relationship of vital signs changes and the perception of pain in patients ICU who do not have painkilling therapy.
UNASSIGNED: The study is cross-sectional. The critically ill patients, adults, hospitalized for at least 24 hours and daily bathing in bed were recruited. The socio-demographic information and clinical data were collected using the clinical record. The vital functions data trend was collected at four different times of the bad bathing: before (T0), during (T1), immediately after (T2), 20/30 minutes from the term (T3). For each patients three observations of the vital parmeters trend were detected.
UNASSIGNED: 19 patients were enrolled. All vital functions show statistically variations during the follow-up (p <0.05), particularly between T0 versus T1. The trend of the all vital parameters in the subgroup of the females reported significantly changes (p<0.05) except for the pain score (p=0.390) and diastolic blood pressure (p=0. 183); the men reported significant differences in the trend of the all vital funcitons (p<0.05) except for the body temperature (p = 0.06) and diastolic blood pressure (p=0.123).
UNASSIGNED: This study confirms that the procedure for bed bathing modifies the parametric values of patients in a critical area; however, the potential influence of certain factors that may have compromised the data cannot be limited. The application of innovative techniques to minimize interference (control of the microclimate, use of electrodes resistant to shocks and water) was reccomnded, so too the adherence to the Evidence Based Care reduces the risk of complications and guides professional action in the best possible way.

Autoimmune pathology of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is generally restricted to the brain. Our objective is to expand the phenotype of ADEM. A four-year-old girl was admitted to the pediatric emergency room of a university medical center five days after a common upper respiratory tract infection. Acute symptoms were fever, leg pain, and headaches. She developed meningeal signs, and her level of consciousness dropped rapidly. Epileptic seizure activity started, and she became comatose, requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. Serial brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) illustrated the fulminant development of ADEM. Treatment escalation with high-dose corticosteroids, immunoglobulins, and plasma exchange did not lead to clinical improvement. On day ten, the patient developed treatment-refractory cardiogenic shock and passed away. The postmortem assessment confirmed ADEM and revealed acute lymphocytic myocarditis, likely explaining the acute cardiac failure. Human metapneumovirus and picornavirus were detected in the tracheal secrete by PCR. Data sources-medical chart of the patient. This case is consistent with evidence from experimental findings of an association of ADEM with myocarditis as a postinfectious systemic autoimmune response, with life-threatening involvement of the brain and heart.

We aimed to compare the effectiveness of EM-guided and endoscopic nasoenteral feeding tube placement among critically ill patients.
We performed a single-center, randomized controlled trial among 161 adult patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) requiring nasoenteral feeding. Patients were randomly assigned to EM-guided or endoscopic nasoenteral feeding tube placement (1:1). The primary end point was the total success rate of correct jejunal placement.
This was achieved in 74/81 and 76/80 patients who underwent EM-guided and endoscopic jejunal tube placements, respectively (91.4% vs. 95%; relative risk, 0.556; [CI], 0.156-1.980; P = 0.360). The EM-guided group had more placement attempts, longer placement time, and shorter inserted nasal intestinal tube length. However, they had shorter total placement procedure duration and physician\'s order-tube placement and order-start of feeding intervals. The EM-guided group had higher discomfort level and recommendation scores and lesser patient costs. This trial is registered at Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR-IOR-17011737).
Bedside EM-guided placement is as fast, safe, and successful as endoscopic placement and may be considered the preferred technique in critically ill patients.