A psycho-organic disorder such as delirium is a frequently occurring and serious disorder especially on Intensive Care units. Nowadays, more attention is paid to this problem by physicians, nurses and by researchers, but assessment of delirium in all ICU patients is still not common practice. If patients …

Delirium occurs frequently in critically ill patients, and especially in severely ill and in infectious patients. Although several causal pathways for delirium have been described, the role of biomarkers in ICU patients is unknown. We investigated potential differences in various serum biomarkers between …

The prevalence of obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) C30 kg/m2, reaches epidemic proportions. It is not only a risk factor for health problems, but also exacerbates illness progression. Consequently, the number of obese patients on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has increased enormously. Caring …

In critically ill patients, delirium is a serious and frequent disorder that is associated with a prolonged intensive care and hospital stay and an increased morbidity and mortality. Without the use of a delirium screening instrument, delirium is often missed by ICU nurses and physicians. The effects …

PURPOSE: To evaluate the functional status of patients within the first week of discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU), and to identify predictors and explanatory factors of functional status. METHODS: A prospective, observational, cohort study was conducted with consecutive ICU patients who had …

INTRODUCTION: A stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), although potentially life-saving, may cause considerable discomfort to patients. However, retrospective assessment of discomfort is difficult because recollection of stressful events may be impaired by sedation and severe illness during the ICU stay. …

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Endotracheal suctioning in intubated patients is routinely applied in most ICUs but may have negative side effects. We hypothesised that on-demand minimally invasive suctioning would have fewer side effects than routine deep endotracheal suctioning, and would be comparable in duration …