Heart & lung : the journal of critical care
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Despite the benefits of prompt treatment of myocardial infarction, gender disparities exist in emergency department (ED) nurses' cardiac triage decisions. ⋯ The evaluation supports the feasibility and utility of the ACT intervention.
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We investigated whether mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients without cerebral damage is associated with fever manifestation and characteristics. ⋯ These findings imply that, although fever is not generally associated with mortality in patients without cerebral damage, it can be harmful and should be suppressed when it becomes very high. Rigorous clinical trials are needed to help establish antipyretic therapy guidelines.
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Nearly 75% of critically ill patients develop anemia in the intensive care unit (ICU). Anemia can be treated with red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, although evidence suggests that lower hemoglobin levels are tolerated in the critically ill. Despite such recommendations, variation exists in clinical practice. ⋯ Anemia was common in this critically ill cohort, with hemoglobin levels continuing to drop with ICU stay. Pretransfusion hemoglobin levels were lower than reported by others, yet the RBC transfusion rate was comparable. There was no association between anemia and phlebotomy practices in our ICU.