Heart & lung : the journal of critical care
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Critical care unit noise and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
To determine if Critical Care Unit (CCU) sound levels suppress rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. ⋯ Although generalization of the results to CCU patients is limited (because of the use of laboratory subjects), the results provided convincing support for a causal relationship between CCU sound levels and suppression of REM sleep.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Spotlight article: pulse oximetry in the postoperative care of cardiac surgical patients: a randomized clinical trial. (Bierman MI, Stein KL, Snyder JV. Chest 1992; 102: 1367-70.).
Despite the limitations noted in this critique, the study provides information regarding the usefulness of pulse oximetry in care of postoperative cardiac surgery patients. Similar studies could be done with other groups of critically ill patients. Evaluation of technology in the critical care setting is essential so that care can be rendered in the safest and most efficient, cost-effective, manner.
-
Inappropriate intubation of the tracheobronchial tree by a fine-bore nasogastric tube with a metal stylet is a well-known hazard. We report a pulmonary perforation and hydropneumothorax caused by a polyvinylchloride nasogastric tube without a stylet in a child of 13 months. ⋯ It would appear that the auscultatory method is inadequate in checking the correct placement of a nasogastric tube in young children. An ordinary nasogastric tube can cause pulmonary perforation.
-
Hypoalbuminemia is a common finding in critically ill patients. It has been well documented that hypoalbuminemic patients have a higher morbidity and mortality rate when compared with patients with a normal serum albumin. ⋯ There is, however, very little evidence that this practice is of any benefit. In this article the physiology of albumin in health and disease is reviewed, and those clinical studies that have investigated the use of albumin in acutely ill hypoalbuminemic patients are evaluated.
-
To examine nurses' ability to deliver 1.5 times the ventilated tidal volume at 100% FIO2 with a manual resuscitation bag during endotracheal suctioning. ⋯ Nurses observed were unable to meet the standard for volume or oxygen delivery. However this did not affect the patient's heart rate, mean arterial pressure, or SaO2.