-
Intravascular catheters are an essential component of the practice of critical care medicine. These devices are used to deliver life-sustaining intravenous fluids, antibiotics, parenteral nutrition, blood, and blood products, and to monitor the hemodynamic status of critically ill patients.
-
With the health care penny being squeezed dry its not unexpected that nurses report they are unable to provide quality of care consistent with professional standards in todays hospitals, says Julie Sochalski, RN, PhD, professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
-
Health care providers are understandably concerned about the legal climate in which they live, observes Marshall B. Kapp, JD, MPH, professor in the department of community health at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. But ICU physicians can rest easier than many. Even though malpractice cases abound, the reality is that very few medical malpractice claims or other adverse legal actions happen due to thoughtful decisions to withhold or withdraw treatment for dying patients in the ICU.
-
-
This report updates the CDCs previous edition of this resource, the 1998 Guidelines for Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The recommendations were formulated through a multi-stage process that included a three-day meeting in Atlanta in September 2000, when consultants reviewed the literature and debated the evidence. While the guidelines emphasize treatment, diagnostic and prevention strategies also are discussed.
-
During the last several years, the relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry has come under increasing scrutiny. However, no literature has been published examining potential financial conflicts of interest for authors of commonly used clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). This cross-sectional study from Toronto surveyed 192 authors of 44 CPGs on common diseases endorsed by North American and European specialty societies.
-
The 12-lead ECG shown in the Figure was obtained from a 50-year-old man with new-onset chest pain. In view of a negative prior history of coronary disease, what might cardiac catheterization show?
-
Ultrasound guidance (USG) for the placement of central venous catheters (CVC) has been recognized as a helpful adjunct in anesthesia and surgical literature since 1984, but has received little notice in the emergency medicine (EM) literature. To clarify the EM role of this emerging technique, Miller and colleagues compared USG to the traditional landmark technique for insertion of CVC in ED patients without obtainable peripheral access.
-
Among the many electrocardiographic findings indicative of acute coronary syndromes, the emergency physician must be familiar with the characteristics of the pre-infarction stage of coronary artery disease known as Wellens syndrome.
-
One year later: Emergency department response to biological terrorism, part II - smallpox, viral hemorrhagic fevers, tularemia, and botulinum toxins
