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To determine practices regarding use of closed-system suctioning (CSS) and airway management of intubated patients, Sole and colleagues surveyed a national sample of 1665 registered nurses (RNs) and respiratory therapists (RTs) in 27 institutions.
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A wide variety of therapeutic interventions have failed to produce a significant change in the mortality of critically ill patients. Studies of these interventions include numerous trials of anti-inflammatory agents in sepsis, the trial involving growth hormone in critically ill patients, as well as a host of other investigations.
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The ARDSNetwork trial that began in 1996 (ARMA trial)1 was designed to test the validity of using lower tidal volumes in mechanical ventilators was halted because critics who were not a part of the ARDSNetwork argued that the control arm chosen was harmful and unethical.
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Specialty beds marketed for ICU patients range from simple air-filled mattresses designed for use on ordinary hospital beds to high-tech, electronically controlled rotating or vibrating devices.
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The FDA has approved vardenafil (LevitraBayer and GlaxoSmithKline) for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men. Vardenafil joins sildenafil (Viagra) as the only 2 drugs approved for this indication in this country.
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Of 26 mechanically ventilated patients, 22 developed bacterial lower respiratory tract colonization, and in 15 patients anaerobes were recovered; 2 of 5 patients diagnosed with ventilator-associated pneumonia had anaerobes present in sufficient quantity to suggest that they were considered pathogenic.
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Genetic investigations have made considerable progress in identifying mutations associated with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The identification of genetic alterations in patients with sporadic ALS, however, has lagged behind. The present study is a major advance in investigating the etiology of ALS.
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This study suggests that the risk conferred by an inherited thrombophilia for ischemic stroke is likely to be low overall and almost nonexistent in some ethnic groups such as individuals of African or African-Caribbean descent.
