Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Oct 1996
The influence of length of stay in the ICU on power of discrimination of a multipurpose severity score (SAPS). ARCHIDIA.
To assess how the power of discrimination of a multipurpose severity score (Simplified Acute Physiology Score; SAPS) changes in relation to the length of stay (LOS) in the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ The logistic model that we developed meets high standards for discrimination and calibration. However, SAPS loses its discriminative power over time; accuracy of prediction is maintained at an acceptable level only in patients who stay in the ICU no longer than 5 days. The stay in the ICU represents a complex variable, which is not predictable, that influences the performance of SAPS on the first day.
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Intensive care medicine · Oct 1996
Decisions to forego life-sustaining treatment and the duty of documentation.
To study the current practice of documenting decisions to forego life-sustaining treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU), using the Swedish Medical Records Act as a frame of reference. ⋯ The medical records give a fairly accurate picture of the frequency with which such decisions are made at this particular ICU, although the number might be somewhat underestimated. However, the content of the documentation is rather scanty and does not fully satisfy the requirements of the Swedish Medical Records Act. Further studies are needed to warrant any generalization.
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Intensive care medicine · Oct 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialImproved oxygenation utilizing a prone positioner in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
(a) To determine whether placing patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in the prone position by a light-weight portable support frame improves oxygenation, (b) whether one can determine which patients benefit from prone positioning, and (c) to determine an effective technique for prone positioning of patients. ⋯ Prone positioning improves oxygenation in the majority of patients studied and can be achieved relatively easily.
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Intensive care medicine · Oct 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe opiate-sparing effect of dipyrone in post-operative pain therapy with morphine using a patient-controlled analgesic system.
To determine whether dipyrone has an opiate-sparing effect in post-operative pain therapy compared with placebo during patient-controlled morphine therapy (PCA) and to compare the effects on analgesia and respiratory and coagulation parameters. ⋯ Concomitant administration of dipyrone with on-demand morphine (PCA) reduces opiate consumption while maintaining post-operative pain relief with a low incidence of side-effects.
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Intensive care medicine · Oct 1996
Antibiotic susceptibility in aerobic gram-negative bacilli isolated in intensive care units in 39 French teaching hospitals (ICU study).
Evaluation of the distribution and antibiotic susceptibility of the aerobic gram-negative bacilli (AGNB) isolated from patients in intensive care units (ICU study). ⋯ Rates of resistance in AGNB as a whole and in particular species (P. aeruginosa, Klebsiella), as well as frequency of concomitant resistance found in the French ICU study, were higher than those found in ICU studies conducted with the same methodology in Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany, which may reflect differences in case mix.