Critical Care and Shock

August 2007

Significantly Raised Brain Natriuretic Peptide in a Young Patient with Dengue Fever without Heart and Renal Failure

Objective: This is the fi rst case report of association of raised brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients with dengue fever (DF). BNP is raised in patients with heart failure. It can also be elevated in renal failure and subarachnoid haemorrhage in the absence of heart failure. Raised BNP has never been described in patients with DF. Clinical features: We describe a young patient with DF who complained of sudden onset breathlessness on day 3 of admission. She was found to have right sided crepitations. Myocardial screen was done which was negative but BNP was 3555 pg/ml.

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Unilateral Diaphragmatic Pacing: An Innovative Solution for Unilateral Diaphragmatic Paralysis

Mechanical ventilation has always been a cornerstone of respiratory support for patients with respiratory muscle paralysis. In selected patients, diaphragm pacing (DP) through electrical stimulation of the phrenic nerves provides an alternative to mechanical ventilation with signifi cant advantages in life quality. We report an interesting case of unilateral diaphragmatic paralysis in which unilateral diaphragmatic pacing produced signifi cant improvement in quality of life.

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Extra-Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: Neurosarcoidosis – Case Presentation and Literature Review

More than a century after the description of sarcoidosis, the disease remains not well understood. Sarcoidosis is an infl ammatory disease of unknown etiology characterized by noncaseating granulomas with multiple organs affected. The epidemiology reveals lung involvement in 90- 95% of the patients and just 5-13% incidence of neurological involvement. We present an unusual case of a patient with medulla oblongata and retroperitoneal sarcoidosis with no other organ involvement.

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Non Infectious Pulmonary Complications after Bone Marrow Transplant with a Special Focus on Idiopathic Pneumonia Syndrome

Pulmonary complications are a signifi cant cause of early mortality (up to 100 days) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). While infectious complications particularly due to opportunistic pathogens are common in these patients, diffuse lung injury is a non-infectious complication occurring in 25-50% of HSCT recipients. The incidence of this complication is higher with allogeneic as apposed to autologous transplants and is largely dependant on the method of graft versus host prophylaxis.

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Pro- and Anti-Infl ammatory Balance of Septic Patients is Associated with Severity and Outcome

Purpose: To study infl ammatory profile in patients with sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock with regards to organ dysfunction and outcome, and to identify a pattern associated with more catastrophic course of illness, organ failure and risk of death. Material and methods: Twenty-nine consecutive patients with sepsis admitted to a medical Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary university hospital (November 2002-December 2003).

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Use and Understanding of Therapeutic Hypothermia in Developing Countries

Purpose: The use of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has increased in the treatment of comatose victims of cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury, refractory dysrhythmias, neonatal encephalopathy and asphyxia, near-drowning and hemorrhagic shock. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the level of understanding of TH use for comatose victims of cardiac arrest among healthcare providers in two developing countries.

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