Heart & lung : the journal of critical care
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Myocardial ischemia may be considered both a consequence of weaning from ventilation and a potential cause of weaning failure. A limited number of investigations have evaluated myocardial ischemia during mechanical ventilation and weaning and its effect on weaning success. The purpose of this pilot investigation was to determine the prevalence of myocardial ischemia in a diverse group of medical intensive care unit (MICU) patients during baseline mechanical ventilation, during weaning using continuous positive airway pressure, and up to 24 hours after extubation and to evaluate the relationship between ischemia and weaning failure. ⋯ Silent myocardial ischemia was a common occurrence in this diverse group of MICU patients, although only 21% had previously diagnosed coronary disease. Clinicians must be aware of the potential for silent ischemia, monitor and evaluate their patients for such, and intervene to promote optimal cardiovascular function, particularly during the stress of ventilator weaning.
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There are many noninfectious disorders in the critical care unit (CCU) that mimic sepsis. Pseudosepsis is the term applied to noninfectious disorders that mimic sepsis. Fever/leukocytosis is not diagnostic of infection but frequently accompanies a wide variety of noninfectious disorders. ⋯ Evacuation of the rectus sheath hematoma rapidly reverses the patient's hypotension and is curative. We describe a case of pseudosepsis caused by rectus sheath hematoma in an elderly man with hypotension unresponsive to fluids/pressors and mimicking septic shock. Clinicians should be aware that rectus sheath hematoma is a rare but important cause of pseudosepsis in patients in the CCU.
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Backrest elevation, defined as the angle of the backrest height above the horizontal position, is a common nursing intervention that is often used by subjective visual estimation in critically ill patients. ⋯ The results indicate that the subjective assessment of backrest angle may result in errors that may potentially compromise the patient's condition and supports the need for a more objective method for determining backrest angle.