Sequential assessment of organ dysfunction during the first few days of ICU admission is a good indicator of prognosis. Both the mean and highest SOFA scores are particularly useful predictors of outcome. Independent of the initial score, an increase in SOFA score during the first 48 hours in the ICU predicts a mortality rate of at least 50%.
Both hypothermia and fever are associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates. Patients with hypothermia have a worse prognosis than those with fever.
In this large series of patients, VRI was associated with a longer ICU stay, but its presence did not influence survival. A longer duration of ventriculostomy catheter monitoring in patients with VRI might be due to an increased volume of drained CSF during infection. Risk factors associated with VRIs are SAH, IVH, craniotomy, and coinfection.
The Infection Probability Score is a simple score that can help assess the probability of infection in critically ill patients. The variables used are simple, routinely available, and familiar to clinicians. Patients with a score <14 points have only a 10% risk of infection.
Hemoglobin concentrations typically decline by >0.5 g/dL/day during the first days of intensive care unit stay in nonbleeding patients. Beyond the third day, hemoglobin concentrations can remain relatively constant in nonseptic patients but continue to decrease in septic patients, as well as patients with high sepsis-related organ failure assessment or Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores. These observations may help in the interpretation of hemoglobin concentrations in critically ill patients.
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