The Dose Response Multicentre Investigation on Fluid Assessment (DoReMIFA) in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: The previously published "Dose Response Multicentre International Collaborative Initiative (DoReMi)" study concluded that the high mortality of critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) was unlikely to be related to an inadequate dose of renal replacement therapy (RRT) and other factors were contributing. This follow-up study aimed to investigate the impact of daily fluid balance and fluid accumulation on mortality of critically ill patients without AKI (N-AKI), with AKI (AKI) and with AKI on RRT (AKI-RRT) receiving an adequate dose of RRT. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled all consecutive patients admitted to 21 intensive care units (ICUs) from nine countries and collected baseline characteristics, comorbidities, severity of illness, presence of sepsis, daily physiologic parameters and fluid intake-output, AKI stage, need for RRT and survival status. Daily fluid balance was computed and fluid overload (FO) was defined as percentage of admission body weight (BW). Maximum fluid overload (MFO) was the peak value of FO. RESULTS: We analysed 1734 patients. A total of 991 (57 %) had N-AKI, 560 (32 %) had AKI but did not have RRT and 183 (11 %) had AKI-RRT. ICU mortality was 22.3 % in AKI patients and 5.6 % in those without AKI (p < 0.0001). Progressive fluid accumulation was seen in all three groups. Maximum fluid accumulation occurred on day 2 in N-AKI patients (2.8 % of BW), on day 3 in AKI patients not receiving RRT (4.3 % of BW) and on day 5 in AKI-RRT patients (7.9 % of BW). The main findings were: (1) the odds ratio (OR) for hospital mortality increased by 1.075 (95 % confidence interval 1.055-1.095) with every 1 % increase of MFO. When adjusting for severity of illness and AKI status, the OR changed to 1.044. This phenomenon was a continuum and independent of thresholds as previously reported. (2) Multivariate analysis confirmed that the speed of fluid accumulation was independently associated with ICU mortality. (3) Fluid accumulation increased significantly in the 3-day period prior to the diagnosis of AKI and peaked 3 days later. CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill patients, the severity and speed of fluid accumulation are independent risk factors for ICU mortality. Fluid balance abnormality precedes and follows the diagnosis of AKI.

Sedation in the intensive care unit: a systematic review.

CONTEXT: Sedation has become an integral part of critical care practice in minimizing patient discomfort; however, sedatives have adverse effects and the potential to prolong mechanical ventilation, which may increase health care costs. OBJECTIVE: To determine which form of sedation is associated with optimal sedation, the shortest time to extubation, and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay. DATA SOURCES: A key word search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Collaboration databases and hand searches of 6 anesthesiology journals from 1980 to June 1998. Experts and industry representatives were contacted, personal files were searched, and reference lists of relevant primary and review articles were reviewed. STUDY SELECTION: Studies included were randomized controlled trials enrolling adult patients receiving mechanical ventilation and requiring short-term or long-term sedation. At least 2 sedative agents had to be compared and the quality of sedation, time to extubation, or length of ICU stay analyzed. DATA EXTRACTION: Data on population, intervention, outcome, and methodological quality were extracted in duplicate by 2 of 3 investigators using 8 validity criteria. DATA SYNTHESIS: Of 49 identified randomized controlled trials, 32 met our selection criteria; 20 studied short-term sedation and 14, long-term sedation. Of these, 20 compared propofol with midazolam. Most trials were not double-blind and did not report or standardize important cointerventions. Propofol provides at least as effective sedation as midazolam and results in a faster time to extubation, with an increased risk of hypotension and higher cost. Insufficient data exist to determine effect on length of stay in the ICU. Isoflurane demonstrated some advantages over midazolam, and ketamine had a more favorable hemodynamic profile than fentanyl in patients with head injuries. CONCLUSION: Considering the widespread use of sedation for critically ill patients, more large, high-quality, randomized controlled trials of the effectiveness of different agents for short-term and long-term sedation are warranted.