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Implementation of an evidence-based extubation-readiness bundle was associated with a decrease in mechanical ventilation days and pneumonia in brain-injured patients.
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In 1818, James Blundell performed the first successful human blood transfusion in a woman with postpartum hemorrhage. Nearly 200 years later, about 15 million red blood cell (RBC) units are transfused annually in the United States. Many of these transfusions occur in the intensive care unit (ICU), where up to 30-50% of patients are transfused. Despite the frequency of RBC transfusions, there is little evidence that transfusions benefit patients.
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This prospective, single-center study reported that critical care perceived to be futile is common, is associated with certain patient factors, and can be quite costly.
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Results from a large, multinational study indicate that ICU patients worldwide experience moderately intense pain, most commonly from chest tube removal, wound drain removal, and arterial line insertion.
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Despite intense research on respiratory muscle physiology and patient-ventilator interfacing, this knowledge has not been integrated into a comprehensive approach toward managing the respiratory muscles in critical illness. This special feature describes the complex array of issues complicating such an endeavor.
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The recognition of non-accidental injury is critical for a pediatric trauma patient. In the year 2000, almost 3 million reports of child abuse were made to social service agencies. Forty-four percent of the fatalities were children younger than 1 year of age. Not only are these statistics alarming, but they point out the need for emergency department and trauma physicians and nurses to recognize non-accidental injury and aggressively protect the children who seek our medical expertise and protection.
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Generally, families of critical care patients are not actively involved in patient care in a consistent or meaningful way.
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This large-scale clinical trial of exogenous surfactant administration in adult patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) used internationally accepted diagnostic criteria and the ARDS Net lung-protective ventilation protocol in all patients.
