E-cigarette use in patients receiving home oxygen therapy.

Current smokers who are prescribed home oxygen may not benefit from the therapy. In addition to being an obvious fire hazard, there is some evidence that the physiological mechanisms by which home oxygen is believed to operate are inhibited by smoking. Although their effectiveness is yet to be demonstrated, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are often regarded as an aid to smoking cessation. However, several burn accidents in e-cigarette smokers receiving home oxygen therapy have also been reported, leading Health Canada to release a warning of fire risk to oxygen therapy patients from e-cigarettes. It is the authors' position that patients receiving oxygen should definitely not use e-cigarettes. The authors provide suggestions for addressing the delicate issue of home oxygen therapy in current cigarette and/or e-cigarette smokers.

Outcome value of Clara cell protein in serum of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Injury to the alveolocapillary barrier characterizes ALI/ARDS; therefore determining levels of lung epithelium-specific small proteins in serum may help predict clinical outcomes. We examined whether serum Clara cell protein (CC-16) concentration is correlated with the outcome, mechanical ventilation duration, and incidence of nonpulmonary organ failure. DESIGN: Prospective multicenter observational study conducted by the Quebec Critical Care Network. MEASUREMENTS: Seventy-eight adult ARDS patients requiring mechanical ventilation were enrolled and 28-day mortality was the primary outcome. Ventilatory parameters were computed and blood was sampled daily. Clinical information collected included cause of death, duration of mechanical ventilation, number of ventilator-free days, and organ failures. RESULTS: Median serum levels of CC-16 were significantly higher in nonsurvivors than survivors on days 0-2 (19.93 microg/l, IQR 11.8-44.32, vs. 8.9, 5.66-26.38) and sustained up to day 14. CC-16 levels were correlated positively with the number of failing organs (rho 0.3623) and requirement for prolonged mechanical ventilation. Predictors of patient mortality included age, arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure, CC-16, and APACHE II score (odds ratios 1.35, 1.52, 1.37, 1.159, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Higher initial CC-16 serum level is associated with increased risk of death, fewer ventilator-free days, and increased frequency of nonpulmonary multiple organ failure. CC-16 is a valuable biomarker of ARDS that may help predict outcome among ARDS patients with high-risk mortality.

Acute renal failure in bone marrow transplant patients admitted to the intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Review of bone marrow transplant (BMT) cases admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) and to compare co-morbidity and outcome of BMT patients developing or not developing acute renal failure (ARF). METHODS: A case review of BMT patients admitted to the ICU (a 16-bed medico-surgical ICU in a tertiary care teaching institution) over a 4-year period. RESULTS: Between January 1994 and December 1998, 57 among 441 BMT patients (12.9%) were admitted to the ICU, mainly for respiratory distress (58%) and hypotension (32%). Forty-two patients (73.7%) presented ARF as defined as a doubling of serum creatinine. Compared to the 15 other patients, ARF patients had a higher APACHE II score (30 +/- 8 vs. 25 +/- 7, p < 0.05). For ARF vs. non-ARF patients, there was no difference in age (43.8 +/- 10.8 vs. 44.3 +/- 11.1 years), in requirement for mechanical ventilation (76 vs. 73%) and vasopressors (69 vs. 60%), and in prevalence of graft-versus-host disease (19 vs. 13%) or neutropenia (69 vs. 67%), but the prevalence of sepsis (83 vs. 60%) and liver failure (69 vs. 40%) was higher. Maximum serum bilirubin was markedly increased in ARF compared to non-ARF patients (p < 0.005). For both subgroups, no difference in the administration of potential nephrotoxic agents was identified. Usually, ARF was considered multifactorial by clinicians, with ATN being the most frequent diagnosis (55%). Maximum serum creatinine reached a mean of 330 +/- 130 micromol/l. In 74% of cases, ARF occurred concomitantly or after admission to the ICU. Oligoanuria was present in 38%, whereas polyuria was observed in 17%. Fourteen ARF patients (33%) required dialytic support. Mortality rates were significantly different in ARF vs. non-ARF patients (88 vs. 60%, p < 0.05). Predictive factors for the development of ARF were liver failure (odds ratio (OR) 5.9), low serum albumin (OR 1.2) and APACHE II score (OR 1.1), whereas variables predictive of mortality were mechanical ventilation (OR 14.8), ARF (OR 5.8), liver failure (OR 3.7), and APACHE II score (OR 1.2). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that ARF in BMT patients admitted to the ICU is frequent, multifactorial, related to liver failure, and that its development has a negative impact on outcome.