Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 1996
Effectiveness of a continuous quality improvement program aiming to reduce unplanned extubation: a prospective study.
To evaluate the effectiveness of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program in reducing the incidence of unplanned endotracheal extubation. ⋯ The implementation of a concerted CQI program is effective in reducing the overall incidence of unplanned endotracheal extubation.
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 1996
Nutritional status, ICU duration and ICU mortality in lung transplant recipients.
To determine the relation of malnutrition and underlying diagnosis to the length of stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and to mortality after lung transplantation (LTX). ⋯ We conclude that the type of transplant procedure and the underlying diagnosis are important predictive indicators of ICU duration. A poor nutritional status (BMI below the 25th percentile) is a risk factor for ICU mortality in cases of patients who stay for 5 days or longer in the ICU.
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 1996
Comparative Study Clinical TrialClinical evaluation of a continuous intra-arterial blood gas system in critically ill patients.
To evaluate the clinical performance of a new, continuous intra-arterial blood gas monitoring system (CIABG) in abnormal ranges of blood gases, and during episodes of low blood pressure, in critically ill patients. ⋯ In situations of severe hypoxemia, hypercapnia and acidosis, the agreement between CIABG and arterial blood sampling (ABS) is better for PaCO2 and pH than for PaO2, and is not influenced by episodes of low blood pressure.
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 1996
Cerebral vasoconstriction in comatose patients resuscitated from a cardiac arrest?
To determine the role of cerebral vasoconstriction in the delayed hypoperfusion phase in comatose patients after cardiac arrest. ⋯ We found evidence of increased cerebrovascular resistance during the first 24 h after cardiac arrest with persistent high endothelin levels, gradually decreasing nitrate levels, and gradually increasing cGMP levels, This suggests that active cerebral vasoconstriction due to an imbalance between local vasodilators and vasoconstrictors plays a role in the delayed hypoperfusion phase.
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Intensive care medicine · Nov 1996
International participation in major intensive care journals. "The smaller the better".
This study seeks to assess the scientific contributions in the field of intensive care medicine from each of the major countries (per million inhabitants) and discusses the possible factors which may contribute to any differences. ⋯ The present study reveals that the smaller European nations have a greater participation than the larger European nations in the major intensive care journals. This phenomenon could be due to different submission practices in these countries compared with the larger European countries, where a considerable number of papers are submitted to local renowned journals. There was no absolute correlation between a nation's gross national product and the total number of publications.