Crit Care Nurs Q
May 2025
Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction resulting from a dysregulated host response to infection. It is a major global health concern due to its high morbidity and mortality. This article provides a comprehensive overview of sepsis, focusing on its epidemiology, definitions, scoring systems, and diagnostic markers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrent risk assessment of pulmonary embolism (PE) stratifies patients based on hemodynamic stability, clinical parameters of severity, right ventricular dysfunction and cardiac injury but fails to integrate a wide variety of comorbid conditions. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) predicts mortality based on patients' diseases and provides a system to quantify disease burden. The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database (2016-2018) was used to identify patients with PE and calculate CCI score groups of 0, 1-2, 3-5, and ≥6 and stratify them by outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrauma in pregnancy can range from a mild injury, such as a fall from standing height, to a major injury, involving a penetrating injury or a high force motor vehicle collision. Providing care to a pregnant patient with trauma presents a unique challenge as 2 patients are at risk for complications, that is, the mother and the fetus, both of whom require evaluation and management. Health care professionals should be aware of and be prepared to manage complications of trauma in pregnancy, given its significant associated morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSilver nanoparticles (AgNPs) gained significant attention due to their activity against microbial pathogens, cancer cells, and viral particles etc. Traditional fabrication methods require hazardous chemicals as reducing agents and their usage and disposal pose a significant hazard to environmental ecosystem. Here, a de novo, robust, cost effective and an eco-friendly method is reported to fabricate AgNPs irradiated with sunlight (SL) while using Salvadora persica root extract (SPE) as reducing agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBarriers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to reduced access to Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care, leaving untreated patients at risk for various superimposed infections and malignancies such as Kaposi sarcoma (KS). We recently encountered a 37-year-old African-American male with a past medical history of HIV who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and was diagnosed with AIDS-related disseminated KS, representing the first reported case of COVID-19 infection with a newly diagnosed concomitant KS. The patient experienced multi-organ failure requiring tracheostomy, renal replacement therapy, and a prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect
September 2021
: Central venous catheter (CVC) placement is one of the most commonly performed procedures in the intensive care unit for the institution of high-risk medications and nutrients. Despite the frequent use of ultrasound, inadvertent placement of CVC into the carotid artery is still possible. It carries significant morbidity due to the incidence of bleeding, arteriovenous fistula, and stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo our knowledge, this is the first report of isolated pulmonary nodules as an initial presentation of underlying pancreatic cancer. We present a case of metastatic pancreatic cancer which manifested as worsening bilateral pulmonary nodules and normal abdominal imaging in a 72-year-old female patient. A navigational bronchoscopy with biopsy of lung nodules was performed which showed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: Small cell cancer of the esophagus (SCCE) is an extremely rare entity with an aggressive clinical course, thus early diagnosis and treatment are important for improved survival.
Case Report: A 35-year-old male presented with dysphagia, loss of appetite and weight loss. Diagnostic workup revealed an esophageal mass, which was diagnosed as primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) on initial biopsy.
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibit strong antimicrobial properties against many pathogens. Traditionally employed chemical methods for AgNPs synthesis are toxic for the environment. Here, we report a quicker, simpler, and environmentally benign process to synthesize AgNPs by using an aqueous 'root extract' of Salvadora persica (Sp) plant as a reducing agent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic obstructive pulmonary disease has recently been gaining more attention, as beyond impacting roughly 10% of the world's population, it also carries high morbidity and mortality. The mainstay of management is optimizing pharmacological therapy, but various nonpharmacological therapies have shown benefits in providing symptom improvement and relief, prevention and mitigation of exacerbations, quality of life, and even mortality rate. Such modalities include supplemental oxygen therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation, viral and bacterial vaccinations, and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) is a common cause of presentation to the emergency department and hospital admissions. The incidence of LGIB increases with age and the most common etiologies are diverticulosis, angiodysplasia, malignancy and anorectal diseases. Foremost modality for evaluation and treatment of LGIB is colonosopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present a case of a glomus tumor of trachea in an elderly female who presented with a mass originating from the posterior trachea. She underwent rigid bronchoscopy with tumor debulking combined with laser therapy. Frozen section initially suggested carcinoid tumor but later turned out to be a glomus tumor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe represent an unfortunate case of postinfluenza streptococcal endocarditis in a 34-year-old healthy male. He presented with hypoxic respiratory failure and was found to have mitral and aortic valve vegetation. Hospital course was complicated by the presence of an aortoatrial fistula from an aortic root abscess, persistent septic shock, and multiorgan failure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarcinoid tumors rarely originate in the urogenital system. We represent a unique case of primary renal carcinoid tumor which was initially diagnosed as renal cell cancer and 10 years later correctly diagnosed as metastatic renal carcinoid.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeiomyosarcomas of vascular origin are extremely rare malignant tumors that can present a diagnostic challenge when they present as a mediastinal mass. Although they portend a poor prognosis with both aggressive local symptoms and metastatic disease, we present a rare case in which surgical en bloc resection of the tumor was curative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present a case of spontaneous rupture of the diaphragm in a young pregnant female mimicking hydropneumothorax. She had a chest tube placed on admission without any improvement in her symptoms, which led to further imaging. Chest and abdomen CT after a barium swallow confirmed the clinical diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCase Rep Pulmonol
July 2016
We present a case of tuberculous (TB) meningitis in nonimmunocompromised immigrant worker who initially presented with headache and later with generalized tonic clonic seizures and disseminated tuberculosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPneumothorax is defined as the abnormal presence of air within the pleural space (cavity) that results in the partial or complete collapse of a lung. It can occur spontaneously or due to a traumatic event. Symptoms can vary from a nondescriptive complaint of shortness of breath or chest pain to complete cardiopulmonary collapse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute pneumonia is an active infection of the lungs that results when an individual at risk gets exposed to a particular microbiological pathogen. Acute pneumonia is the leading cause of death in the United States that is attributable to an infection. The risk factors, pathogenesis, and microbiological organisms involved differ if the pneumonia develops in the community versus health care-associated environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Respir Crit Care Med
October 2015
This study describes a simple approach for enhanced secretory expression of bubaline somatotropin (BbST) in the methylotropic yeast Pichia pastoris. A Mut(s) Pichia transformant carrying multi-copy, non-codon optimized BbST cDNA sequence, expressed and secreted the recombinant protein into the culture medium to a level of 25 % of the total proteins in the culture supernatant, after 120 h of induction. Inclusion of polysorbate-80 in the inducing medium resulted in a significant improvement in the BbST expression (up to 45 % of the total culture supernatant proteins) with concomitant reduction in the induction time to 48 h.
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