IntroductionThe term 'sepsis' is used to define the systemic inflammatory response to an infectious agent (i.e. bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic). Despite the use of new treatment modalities, improvements in technology and increased experience, mortality rates in sepsis remain high [1,2]. Critical care physicians have at their disposal a variety of data to serve as a guide in discriminating infectious from noninfectious conditions in newly admitted patients. In a number of newly admitted patients the diagnosis of sepsis becomes clear after taking the medical history and completing the physical examination 85 APACHE = Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; AUC = area under the receiver operating characteristic curve; CRP = C-reactive protein; ICU = intensive care unit; IL = interleukin; PCT = procalcitonin; SIRS = systemic inflammatory response syndrome; TNF = tumour necrosis factor. AbstractIntroduction The diagnosis of sepsis in critically ill patients is challenging because traditional markers of infection are often misleading. The present study was conducted to determine the procalcitonin level at early diagnosis (and differentiation) in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis, in comparison with C-reactive protein, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor-α. Method Thirty-three intensive care unit patients were diagnosed with SIRS, sepsis or septic shock, in accordance with the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine consensus criteria. Blood samples were taken on the first and second day of hospitalization, and on the day of discharge or on the day of death. For multiple group comparisons one-way analysis of variance was applied, with post hoc comparison. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values for PCT and each cytokine studied were calculated. Results PCT, IL-2 and IL-8 levels increased in parallel with the severity of the clinical condition of the patient. PCT exhibited a greatest sensitivity (85%) and specificity (91%) in differentiating patients with SIRS from those with sepsis. With respect to positive and negative predictive values, PCT markedly exceeded other variables. Discussion In the present study PCT was found to be a more accurate diagnostic parameter for differentiating SIRS and sepsis, and therefore daily determinations of PCT may be helpful in the follow up of critically ill patients.

Intravenous administration of low dose ketamine before induction and maintenance with propofol preserves hemodynamic stability without changing the duration and the quality of recovery compared with propofol alone.

The APACHE II, III and SAPS II clinical scoring tools seem to predict the severity of organophosphate poisoning, and may have prognostic value.

Hypotension during induction of anesthesia with propofol is common. This study has shown that propofol requirement assessed by bispectral index analysis during anesthesia induction may decrease the dose and side effects and provide for satisfactory depth of anesthesia.

A prospective study was performed to assess the practice of antibiotic prophylaxis for surgical procedures in Pamukkale University Hospital, Denizli, Turkey. All surgical procedures performed between April 1 and July 31, 2001, were included. During the study period 897 operations were reviewed. 96% of all procedures were elective, 4% emergencies. Approximately 70.7% were clean surgery, 25.3% clean-contaminated, 2.8% contaminated, and 1.2% dirty. 98% of patients (879) received antibiotic prophylaxis. Although timing of prophylaxis was appropriate in all procedures, the duration of prophylaxis was optimal in only 47.7% of all cases. Sulbactam/ampicillin (SAM), cefazolin and cefepime were the most commonly used antibiotics during the study period. The results of our study suggest that the choice of prophylactic antimicrobial agent was inappropriate in most cases. In conclusion, we think that compliance regarding the optimal choice, frequency, and duration of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis is not adequate in our hospital, and that more education on the subject is necessary.