Editorial

Biomarkers are quantifiable indicators of physiological or pathological processes in the body. They can be useful in establishing a diagnosis, assessing disease progression and a patient's condition and guide therapeutic interventions. However, a great deal could still be done to further improve the utilisation of biomarkers in critical care. Biomarkers can help identify early signs of disease, leading t...

Biomarkers

Despite several biomarkers having been studied for diagnosis and/or prognosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), their extensive use has not been established. Better knowledge of the pathophysiology of ARDS and acute lung injury (ALI) may help develop new biomarkers. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterised by non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema and respiratory failure (Mattha...

This article describes the application of existing and emerging biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of sepsis and pneumonia. Sepsis is defined as a dysregulated host response to infection that results in life threatening organ dysfunction. It carries an estimated 30-day mortality rate of 24.4% and increases to 34.7% in patients who develop shock (Singer et al. 2016; Bauer et al. 2020). A main pill...

Biomarkers are an area of rapid discovery in critical care medicine today. They have the potential to improve our ability to identify and manage patients at increased risk of organ failure and death. This article provides an overview of biomarkers of infection in the intensive care unit. The heterogeneity of sepsis makes its identification challenging in the acute setting. As is common with many critical...

A biomarker defines a measurable indicator of a patient's medical situation that can be measured precisely and accurately. Biomarkers provide value for diagnosis, prognosis, early disease detection, risk stratification, suitable treatment (theragnostic), and trial improvement for patients with sepsis or presumed sepsis. Sepsis is characterised by a dysregulated immune response that leads to organ dysfunct...

Biomarkers hint at the pathophysiology behind a clinical entity, leading to better treatments. Access to biomarker testing may improve drug discovery in clinical trials, responses at the bedside and personalised patient management. The human body is a construct of chemical fires – each with a characteristic smoke signal. The smoke signals are borne to the clinician in the form of biomarkers – some mor...

Preeclampsia is a complex syndrome whose complications bear an impact on perinatal morbidity and mortality. Angiogenic biomarkers may significantly impact both the decision to admit patients and risk stratification and may also help guide patient management and level of care. Preeclampsia is one of the main causes of maternal and foetal morbimortality, with a global incidence of 3-5%, and is a frequent re...

Point-of-View

Sepsis and antimicrobial resistance are two major public health problems. Sepsis is defined as a dysregulated response of the body to a bacterial infection with organ dysfunction. The 2021 Surviving Sepsis Campaign SSC guidelines proposed characterising the infection based on clinical assessment and the dysregulated host response using clinical scores. In children, the sepsis definition is based...

Based on the concepts and the checklist criteria for an ideal sepsis biomarker presented in the article Sepsis Diagnosis: Clinical signs, Scores, and Biomarkers in this issue of ICU Management & Practice, we update and review the potential use of Pancreatic Stone Protein (PSP) in adults, children, and neonates. First described in the 1970s, this protein was only evaluated as a potential...

An overview of tachycardia in sepsis, the importance of rate control and the beneficial effects of beta-blockers. During sepsis, the sympathetic nervous system plays a key role in maintaining cardiac output and blood pressure. This is achieved through changes in heart rate, contractility, and vascular tone. The proper function of the baroreflex system is important for maintaining ha...

Other Feature Articles

Since 2017, the Medical Emergency System of Catalonia has included a paediatrician specialised in critical care at its coordination centre. Their duties are to manage the coordination of interhospital transfers and provide telephone support for paediatric and neonatal emergencies. Here we present our experience and the challenges that we have encountered. Catalonia is one of the autonomous communities of...

What will be the consequences of the new German law of criminalising ex-post triage? Will it result in more legal disputes, ethical dilemmas and preventable deaths? Or will it achieve its goal? As the COVID-19 pandemic hit mankind, many healthcare systems worldwide faced a widely unprecedented shortage of personnel, pharmaceuticals, equipment and/or protective gear. Subsequently, many scientific societies...

Support in intensive care has undergone unprecedented development, with proven technology and protocols, but at the same time, it constitutes an environment that often makes empathy and humanisation difficult. This article reviews current concepts of care for critically ill patients from the point of view of health providers who were also patients in some circumstances. Being a patient in an intensive car...

DigiConf

Biomarkers are quantifiable indicators of physiological or pathological processes in the body. They can be more effectively utilised in intensive care by improving standardised protocols for biomarker testing and interpretation. Join our panellists as they discuss the use of Biomarkers in critical care and where and how biomarkers can provide valuable diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic value. Mode...

Agenda

21-24 42nd ISICEM Brussels, Belgium https://iii.hm/1jog 4 ICU Management & Practice DigiConf Biomarkers Virtual Event https://iii.hm/1joi 15-18 33rd ECCMID Copenhagen, Denmark https://iii.hm/1joj 20-22 NATA 23rd Annual Symposium Athens, Greece https://iii.hm/1jok 26-28 Emergency Medicine Workshop (EuSEM) Budapest, Hungary https://iii.hm/1jol...



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