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Hospitalists are becoming much more common in American health care and soon could change the way EDs work with physicians, says Ron Greeno, MD, chief medical officer and senior vice president of physician services at Cogent Healthcare in Laguna Hills, CA, one of several companies that provide hospitalist services across the country.
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Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) was assessed in 105 patients with severe acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. The use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is effective to reduce intubation and mortality in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.
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No CT variables predicted severe in-hospital morbidity and mortality (death from pulmonary embolism, death from any cause, or cardiac arrest) in patients with PE. However, ventricular septal bowing and increased RV/LV diameter ratio were both strongly predictive of less severe morbidity, namely, subsequent ICU admission, and oligemia was associated with subsequent intubation and vasopressor use.
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Leapfrog Groups standards for critical care are not grounded sufficiently in evidence to mandate their stringent and universal implementation. Rather, most of the guidelines are grounded in common sense and rational extrapolation of the data. As such, they are a reasonable starting point for debate by physicians and policymakers about optimal methods of achieving intensivist-guided care of critically ill patients.
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Oral rofecoxib (Vioxx) may have a role in controlling postoperative pain patients undergoing knee surgery.
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Mechanical ventilation (MV) is a supportive life-saving therapy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In the last decade, the possibility that MV can produce alterations in lungs, namely ventilator-induced lung injury, has been recognized.
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Use of a dedicated medication nurse had no effect on the total number of medication errors based on observations performed in medical, surgical, and mixed medical-surgical units.
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Meta-analysis of published clinical trials showed that a regimen of oral acetylcysteine administration along with hydration reduced the relative risk of developing contrast nephropathy by 56% among patients with pre-existing renal insufficiency.
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Among patients aged 65 or older, 31% were delirious on admission to the ICU, and 70% experienced delirium at some time during their hospitalization.
