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A retrospective analysis of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections in critically ill patients: Experience at a tertiary-care teaching hospital ICU
No full textBackground: Acinetobacter baumannii is a clinically significant pathogen with a high incidence of multidrug resistance that is associated with life-threatening nosocomial infections. Here, we aimed to provide an insight into the clinical characteristics and outcomes of a unique group of A. baumannii infections in which the isolates were resistant to carbapenems and most other antibiotic groups in a tertiary-care intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We performed a retrospective observational study in which records of patients hospitalized in the ICU between June 1, 2021 and June 1, 2023 were reviewed. We checked the clinical, laboratory, and microbiological records of all adult patients who had carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) infections. Prior antibiotic treatments and definitive antibiotic treatments after culture positivity and susceptibility test results were recorded. C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin levels and leukocyte counts were noted. Length of ICU stay and 30-day mortality were defined as the outcome parameters. Results: During the study period, 57 patients were diagnosed with CRAB infections. The respiratory tract was the leading infection site (80.7%). In non-survivors, bloodstream infections (21.9% vs. 4.0% P=0.05) and colistin-resistant (col-R) CRAB infections (43.8% vs. 24.0%, P=0.12) were more common than in survivors, but these parameters were not statistically significant. The length of ICU stay was not different between survivors and non-survivors. Overall, the rate of col-R among CRAB clinical isolates was 35.1%. The 30-day mortality in all patients with CRAB infection was 56.1%. Mortality in col-R CRAB and colistin-susceptible (col-S) CRAB infections was 70.0% and 48.6%, respectively (P=0.12). Prior carbapenem use was 56.1%. Prior colistin use before col-R and col-S CRAB infections was not significant (35.0% vs. 27.0%, P=0.53). Conclusions: Our study provides real-world data on highly resistant A. baumannii infections and shares the characteristics of infections with such resistant strains. Unfortunately, carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii is a challenge for intensive care specialists who are faced with few treatment options, and colistin resistance further complicates the problem
Factors Determining Nephrotoxicity and Mortality in Critical Care Patients Receiving Colistin
Get PDFIntroduction: We aimed to determine risk factors for nephrotoxicity and factors affecting mortality in patients who received colistin.
Methodology: Critical patients who received colistin were enrolled. Pregnancy, age < 18 years, basal creatinine level > 2 mg/dL, colistin use for < 48 hours, and previous renal replacement therapy were exclusion criteria. KDIGO stages were determined according to creatinine levels. Patients were grouped as those with no acute kidney injury (Group N0) and those with acute kidney injury (Group N). Their demographic data, APACHE II and SOFA scores, treatments, and laboratory results were recorded.
Results: A total of 91 patients were included: 27 in Group N0 and 64 in Group N. Demographic data were similar between groups; however, higher admission APACHE-II scores (OR:1.179, 95% CI:1.033-1.346, p = 0.015) and need for vasopressors (OR:5.486, 95% CI:1.522–19.769, p = 0.009) were found to be independent risk factors for nephrotoxicity. Higher APACHE II scores (OR:1.253, %95 CI:1.093-1.437, p = 0.001), presence of coronary artery disease (OR:7.720, % 95 CI: 1.613-36.956, p = 0.011), need for vasopressors (OR: 4.587, % 95 CI: 1.224 – 17.241, p = 0.024), hypoalbuminemia (OR: 4.721, % 95 CI: 1.088 – 20.469, p = 0.038), and higher direct bilirubin levels (OR: 1.806, % 95 CI: 1.055 – 3.092, p = 0.031) were independent risk factors for mortality.
Conclusion: When use of colistin is considered in ICU patients, presence of modifiable risk factors for nephrotoxicity such as hypoalbuminemia, nephrotoxic drug administration, and presence of shock should be determined and managed to prevent nephrotoxicity.</jats:p
Severe Hypermagnesemia Caused by Laxative Use in Patients without Pre-Existing Renal Disfunction
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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