Critical Care Alert – April 1, 2007

April 1, 2007

• Physician-attributable Differences in ICU Costs

  This study was carried out in a 13-bed closed medical ICU, in a county teaching hospital in which 9 board-certified intensivists rotate at 14-day intervals in covering the ICU. Only patients cared for by a single intensivist were included in this analysis.

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• Are Routine Daily Chest X-Rays Justifiable in The ICU?

  Graat and colleagues at the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands conducted this prospective study to determine the impact of discontinuing daily chest radiographs in the ICU.

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• Adverse Physiologic Effects of Lateral Steep Position in Acute Respiratory Failure

  In this study, investigators from the combined medical-surgical ICU at Vienna General Hospital in Austria determined the physiologic effects of lateral rotation therapy in 12 consecutive patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

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• Special Feature: Detecting and Preventing Substance Abuse in Health Care Professionals

  Problems resulting from substance abuse can impact care provided in any health care setting, including the care of critically ill patients. Ideally, an impaired provider will be recognized early and assisted to accept treatment before patient care is compromised.

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• Pharmacology Watch: Which Inhaler Combination is Best for COPD Treatment?

  First Antihypertensive Drug Approved in Last 10 Years: Aliskiren; Alternate Treatment for Osteoporosis; Roche's Oseltamivir: Scrutiny, Bird Flu, and New Drug Applications; FDA Actions

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• Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement

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