Stijn I Blot

..The clinical relevance of Aspergillus-positive endotracheal aspirates in critically ill patients is difficult to assess...

..As a consequence, untargeted interventional studies focused on infection prevention should use occurrence rate of infection rather than mortality as outcome variable...

..For patients in whom the source can be adequately controlled, antimicrobial therapy should be restricted to a short course (e.g. 3-7 days in peritonitis)...

..The aim of this study was to describe the European hospitalized population with severe burn injury, including the incidence, etiology, risk factors, mortality, and causes of death...

....

....

..We evaluate clinical and economic outcomes associated with nosocomial central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection (CR-BSI) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients...

..Methodological techniques dealing with the problem of confounding are discussed and current findings in how multidrug resistance affects outcome in patients with nosocomial infection are highlighted...

..g., contaminated devices or intra-abdominal collections or leakages. In the latter case, timely surgical intervention is essential. In addition, haemodynamic stabilisation and optimisation of tissue oxygenation can save lives...

..In general, antimicrobial therapy should be continued for 5-7 days. If sepsis is still present after 1 week, a diagnostic work up should be performed, and if necessary a surgical reintervention should be considered...

..The effect of the volume of consumption of fluconazole on candidal ecology, however, is poorly investigated...

..The relationship between knowledge of colonization caused by antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria (ABR-GNB) and rate of appropriate initial antibiotic therapy for subsequent bacteremia was evaluated...

..To determine intensive care nurses' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)...

..The main goal is to maintain a balance between optimal prevention and timely initiation of therapy on one hand, and to minimise selection pressure in order to avoid a shift towards less susceptible Candida species on the other hand...

..To evaluate the influence of matching on exposure time on estimates of attributable mortality of nosocomial bacteremia as assessed by matched cohort studies...

..Three issues were appraised. First is the prevalence of Candida. Second is the relevance of nonblood cultures positive for Candida and multisite colonization. Third is the importance of invasive candidiasis in terms of mortality...

..Constant evaluation of current practice on basis of trends in MDR and antibiotic consumption patterns is essential to make progress in this problematic matter...

..Strict adherence to preventive measures reduces the risk of VAP. The objective of this paper is to review what has come forward in recent years in the nonpharmacological prevention of VAP...

..The review highlights current insights in the epidemiology, diagnosis and therapy of Candida peritonitis, focusing on complicated secondary and tertiary peritonitis...

..To determine how the patient to nurse ratio affects risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia...

..We investigated the epidemiology of nosocomial bloodstream infection in elderly intensive care unit (ICU) patients...

..We found that infection with an antimicrobial-resistant organism did not adversely affect clinical outcome in this specific cohort, which already has a high mortality rate...

..To determine whether nosocomial candidemia is associated with increased mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients...

..Prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) is an important responsibility for nurses. Knowledge of the related evidence-based recommendations is necessary to provide high-quality nursing care...

....

..To study the occurrence of multiple-drug-resistant pathogens in nosocomial bloodstream infection associated with pneumonia. To evaluate prediction of multiple drug resistance by systematic surveillance cultures...

..Therefore, we investigated the occurrence of infection in a cohort of critically ill patients with ARF treated with renal replacement therapy (RRT). In addition, we assessed whether this infection worsened outcome...

..We therefore studied patient factors associated with the development of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH), the incidence of organ failure associated with IAH, and the effect on outcome in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP)...

..Gram negative bacteremia (GNB), and to assess the potential benefit of serial measurements of both biomarkers in terms of early antimicrobial therapy initiation...

....

..8% and 45.3%, respectively; P = .959). CONCLUSION: After adjustment for disease severity and acute illness and in the presence of adequate antibiotic therapy, no excess mortality was found in ICU patients with E. coli bacteremia...

..We aimed to identify the determinants of MDR versus non-MDR microbial aetiology in VAP and assessed whether MDR versus non-MDR VAP was independently associated with increased 30-day mortality...

..Nevertheless, the outcome was not influenced by the presence of bloodstream infection. The high mortality observed in ARF patients could therefore not be attributed to the higher incidence of bloodstream infection...

..Blood stream infections (BSI) of abdominal origin are associated with a high mortality rate. We hypothesized that both patient and microbiological factors determine death in critically ill patients who develop such infections...

..To evaluate the clinical impact of nosocomial Enterobacter bacteremia in critically ill patients...

..De-escalation of antimicrobial therapy is often advocated to reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in critically ill patients. However, little data are available on the application of this strategy in daily clinical practice...

..This review article highlights the anti-infective approach of the management of sepsis...

..This study aimed to analyse the incidence of relative adrenal insufficiency (RAI) in these patients, to identify factors associated with RAI and to describe how adrenal responsiveness affects outcome...

..The antibiotic cost associated with ICU-acquired, laboratory-confirmed BSI is significant and should be reduced by implementing infection control measures and preventive strategies...

....

..However, few data are available describing this effect and its relationship with outcomes in specific subgroups of ICU patients...

..As such, a first and critical step should be to increase critical care nurses' adherence to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

..In this study reflecting real-life practice, first-line use of meropenem provided significantly higher rates of the appropriate/adequate therapy, irrespective of presence of risk factors for MDR...

..032) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality (P<.05). Antibiotic resistance in nosocomial bacteremia caused by gram-negative bacteria does not adversely affect the outcome for critically ill patients...

..To assess the impact of documented and clinically suspected bacterial infection precipitating ICU admission on in-hospital mortality in patients with hematological malignancies...

..Taking into account that our patients over the past 20 years have been progressively less extensively burned and hence have a lesser at risk for death, survival following severe burns has continued to improve...

....

..Several definitions of AKI have been used, but the RIFLE 'consensus' classification is nowadays considered the gold standard, enabling a more objective comparison of populations...

..The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and adverse effects of a single dose of sodium bicarbonate and THAM in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with mild metabolic acidosis...

....

..To determine outcome and attributable mortality in critically ill patients with nosocomial bacteremia involving A. baumannii...

....

....

..Blood glucose control during acute illness has been associated with improved outcomes...

....

..However, despite the data available, practice has not changed much to incorporate these findings...

..To determine European intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' knowledge of guidelines for preventing central venous catheter-related infection from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

..The objective of this study was to review which tools can be used in objective burn scar assessment...

..Overall, the use of antibiotics in the treatment of patients with severe acute pancreatitis has increased owing to the use of antibiotic prophylaxis...

..Yet, there is still no consensus about the optimal scale or tool to assess the characteristics and evolution. Our aim was to evaluate the clinical importance of scar scales specifically developed for burn scars...

..This review highlights recent advances in the aetiology of nosocomial pneumonia, and in strategies to increase accuracy of diagnosis and antibiotic prescription while limiting unnecessary antibiotic consumption...

..To assess whether pathogen prediction in bacteremia associated with nosocomial pneumonia (NP) by tracheal surveillance cultures improves adequacy of early antibiotic therapy and impacts mortality...

..These findings underscore the need for randomized controlled trials to determine the optimal prophylactic antimicrobial regimen...

..Because haemofilter conditions should be comparable between patients, we opted for an evaluation of the effects during a 24-h period. Results of this trial can guide future studies in non-renal patients with acute lung injury...

..Although hand hygiene is the most effective measure for preventing cross-infection, overall compliance is poor among health care workers...

..We therefore postulated that use of a polyurethane cuffed tube would prevent early postoperative pneumonia through this mechanism in a population of cardiac surgical patients...

..To assess whether bacteremic ventilator-associated pneumonia (B-VAP) differs in terms of risk factors, organisms, and outcomes from nonbacteremic VAP (NB-VAP)...