Reducing mortality in acute kidney injury patients: systematic review and international web-based survey.

OBJECTIVE: To identify all interventions that increase or reduce mortality in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) and to establish the agreement between stated beliefs and actual practice in this setting. DESIGN AND SETTING: Systematic literature review and international web-based survey. PARTICIPANTS: More than 300 physicians from 62 countries. INTERVENTIONS: Several databases, including MEDLINE/PubMed, were searched with no time limits (updated February 14, 2012) to identify all the drugs/techniques/strategies that fulfilled all the following criteria: (a) published in a peer-reviewed journal, (b) dealing with critically ill adult patients with or at risk for acute kidney injury, and (c) reporting a statistically significant reduction or increase in mortality. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 18 identified interventions, 15 reduced mortality and 3 increased mortality. Perioperative hemodynamic optimization, albumin in cirrhotic patients, terlipressin for hepatorenal syndrome type 1, human immunoglobulin, peri-angiography hemofiltration, fenoldopam, plasma exchange in multiple-myeloma-associated AKI, increased intensity of renal replacement therapy (RRT), CVVH in severely burned patients, vasopressin in septic shock, furosemide by continuous infusion, citrate in continuous RRT, N-acetylcysteine, continuous and early RRT might reduce mortality in critically ill patients with or at risk for AKI; positive fluid balance, hydroxyethyl starch and loop diuretics might increase mortality in critically ill patients with or at risk for AKI. Web-based opinion differed from consensus opinion for 30% of interventions and self-reported practice for 3 interventions. CONCLUSION: The authors identified all interventions with at least 1 study suggesting a significant effect on mortality in patients with or at risk of AKI and found that there is discordance between participant stated beliefs and actual practice regarding these topics.

Dexmedetomidine as a sedative agent in critically ill patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: The effect of dexmedetomidine on length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and time to extubation is still unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pertinent studies were independently searched in BioMedCentral, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of clinical trials (updated February first 2013). Randomized studies (dexmedetomidine versus any comparator) were included if including patients mechanically ventilated in an intensive care unit (ICU). Co-primary endpoints were the length of ICU stay (days) and time to extubation (hours). Secondary endpoint was mortality rate at the longest follow-up available. RESULTS: The 27 included manuscripts (28 trials) randomized 3,648 patients (1,870 to dexmedetomidine and 1,778 to control). Overall analysis showed that the use of dexmedetomidine was associated with a significant reduction in length of ICU stay (weighted mean difference (WMD) = -0.79 [-1.17 to -0.40] days, p for effect <0.001) and of time to extubation (WMD = -2.74 [-3.80 to -1.65] hours, p for effect <0.001). Mortality was not different between dexmedetomidine and controls (risk ratio = 1.00 [0.84 to 1.21], p for effect = 0.9). High heterogeneity between included studies was found. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies suggests that dexmedetomidine could help to reduce ICU stay and time to extubation, in critically ill patients even if high heterogeneity between studies might confound the interpretation of these results.