Despite better compliance with hand hygiene and screening, use of isolation, and other techniques, ICUs remain notorious breeding grounds for hospital-acquired infections. A universal decolonization strategy reduces the total number of ICU bloodborne infections.
I started my emergency medicine practice prior to the widespread availability of pediatric-sized fiberoptic endoscopes. At that time, esophagoscopy using rigid endoscopes was a therapeutic option, but the availability of trained practitioners was limited in many communities.
While burnout occurs in any occupation, this paper will focus on ICU nurses and physicians.
This single-center, prospective, observational study examined the effects of clinician adjustments in ventilator settings or sedation/analgesic dosing on breath stacking (an inspiratory effort that causes the ventilator to deliver two consecutive breaths without an intervening expiratory phase).
