Critical Care Alert – June 1, 2008
June 1, 2008
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Is CRP a Useful Predictor of Illness Severity in Community-acquired Pneumonia?
For 2 years beginning in February, 2005, every patient admitted to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) had blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) measured at the time of admission and (if still in the hospital) 4 days later. A standardized set of clinical and laboratory data was also acquired for each patient, per hospital routine. -
Lung-protective Ventilation Saves Lives: Why Aren't We Using It?
Starting 4 months after publication of the ARDS Network's landmark study showing improved outcomes in patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) when low-tidal-volume, lung-protective ventilation (LPV) was used, investigators at the University of Pennsylvania prospectively identified 88 patients who met the accepted American-European Consensus Conference definition of ALI-ARDS. -
Special Feature: Managing Life-threatening Asthma in the ICU
While only a minority of patients with asthma exacerbations require ICU admission, these patients are challenging to manage because they typically have already failed treatment in the outpatient and emergency department (ED) settings. -
Pharmacology Watch: New Study on Thiazolidinediones May Show Benefits
In this Issue: Pioglitazone and heart disease; ARBs manufacturers spend millions to show the non-inferiority of their products compared to less expensive, generic ACE inhibitors; some athletes turn to growth hormone because it is difficult to detect; FDA Actions -
Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement