Introduction Although sodium disturbances are common in hospitalised patients, few studies have specifically investigated the epidemiology of sodium disturbances in the intensive care unit (ICU). The objectives of this study were to describe the incidence of ICU-acquired hyponatraemia and hypernatraemia and assess their effects on outcome in the ICU.

Fever is common in patients admitted to the ICU and its occurrence and impact on outcome varies among defined patient populations.

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IntroductionHyperlactatemia is frequent in critically ill patients and is often used as a marker of adverse outcome. However, studies to date have focused on selected intensive care unit (ICU) populations. We sought to determine the occurrence and relation of hyperlactatemia with ICU mortality in all patients admitted to four ICUs in a large regional critical care system.MethodsAll adults ([greater than or equal to] 18 years) admitted to ICUs in the Calgary Health Region (population 1.2 million) during 2003 to 2006 were included retrospectively. Lactate determinations were at the discretion of the attending service and hyperlactatemia was defined by a lactate level > 2 mmol/L.ResultsA total of 13,932 ICU admissions occurred among 11,581 patients. The median age was 63 years (37% female), the mean APACHE II score was 25 ± 9 (n = 13,922). At presentation (within first day of admission), 12,246 patients had at least one lactate determination and the median peak lactate was 1.8 (IQR 1.2 to 2.9) mmol/L. The cumulative incidence of at least one documented episode of hyperlactatemia was 5578/13,932 (40%); 5058 (36%) patients had hyperlactatemia at presentation, and a further 520 (4%) developed hyperlactatemia subsequently. The incidence of hyperlactatemia varied significantly by major admitting diagnostic category (P < 0.001) and was highest among neuro/trauma patients 1053/2328 (45%), followed by medical 2047/4935 (41%), other surgical 900/2274 (40%), and cardiac surgical 1578/4395 (36%). Among a cohort of 9107 first admissions with ICU stay of at least one day, both hyperlactatemia at presentation (712/3634 (20%) vs. 289/5473 (5%); P < 0.001) and its later development (101/379 (27%) vs. 188/5094 (4%); P < 0.001) were associated with significantly increased case fatality rates as compared with patients without elevated lactate. After controlling for confounding effects in multivariable logistic regression analysis, hyperlactatemia was an independent risk factor for death.ConclusionsHyperlactatemia is common among the critically ill and predicts risk for death.

A Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score of >11 was not associated with a hospital mortality of >90% at any time during intensive care unit stay. Only a small proportion of patients have the extreme initial Sequential Organ Failure Assessment values associated with a hospital mortality of >90% limiting the usefulness of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment as a triage instrument for pandemic planning. Application of a Sequential Organ Failure Assessment threshold of >11 to the recent H1N1 pandemic would have excluded patients with a markedly lower mortality than seen in a large regional cohort of intensive care unit patients.

Multiple organ dysfunction, does not follow a course of progressive and sequential failure. Evidence of differential daily change should further inform the use of organ failure scores as surrogate outcomes in clinical trials.

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The aim of this study was to report on fever epidemiology and management strategies within a general population of critically ill patients. This was a retrospective cohort study among febrile patients (temperature ≥38.3°C) without acute brain injury admitted to one of four regional adult intensive care units (ICUs). There were 7535 ICU admissions over the 30-month study period. One hundred patients with fever were randomly selected for detailed analysis and represent the study population. The study population had a median age (interquartile range) of 56 (43-69) years and a mean (±standard deviation) Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score of 22 (±9). Septic shock was the most common admission diagnosis (36%), followed by pneumonia (without a shock syndrome; 18%). Fifty-three percent of patients had fever at ICU admission. To investigate the etiology of fever, most patients (89%) had at least one culture sent to the laboratory for analysis and a blood culture (73%) was the most commonly ordered microbiologic investigation. A chest X-ray was ordered in 95% of patients within 48 hours of fever onset. The majority of patients had an infection as the cause of their fever (73%), with pneumonia as the most common diagnosis (70%, 51/73). Prior to the occurrence of fever, 74% of patients were on antibiotics and this increased to 85% within the first 24 hours after documentation of fever. Seventy-nine percent of patients were managed with antipyretic drugs (77%) and/or external cooling (29%); however, only five patients had an order written that specifically guided the use of these temperature-lowering agents. Fever was most commonly infectious in origin. Treatment of patients with fever was a common and nonstandardized practice in this cohort of critically ill patients. This is likely due to lack of evidence in support of a particular temperature management strategy.