Journal of intensive care medicine
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Ensuring patient safety is becoming increasingly important for intensive care unit practitioners. The intensive care unit is particularly prone to medical errors because of the complexity of the patients, interdependence of the practitioners, and dependence on team functioning. This review provides historical perspectives, research foundations, and a practical "how to" guide to improving care in the intensive care unit. ⋯ Effective intensive care unit quality and safety programs capitalize on institutional resources and have multidisciplinary input with clear leadership, input from quality improvement initiatives, a responsible yet nonpunitive culture, and data-driven assessment and monitoring to reduce medical errors. Intensive care unit practitioners need to capitalize on the benefits that patients and their families bring to the patient safety discourse. This provides opportunities for better understanding the risks of the intensive care unit and improving the consent process.
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Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most frequent intensive care unit (ICU)-related infection in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. In contrast to other ICU-related infections, which have a low mortality rate, the mortality rate for ventilator-associated pneumonia ranges from 20% to 50%. These clinically significant infections prolong duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU length of stay, underscoring the financial burden these infections impose on the health care system. ⋯ Once a diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia is suspected, early broad-spectrum antibiotic administration decreases morbidity and mortality and should be based on knowledge of the sensitivities of common infecting organisms in the ICU. De-escalation of therapy, once final culture results are available, is necessary to minimize development of resistant pathogens. Duration of therapy should be based on the patient's clinical response, and every effort should be made to minimize duration of therapy, thus further minimizing the risk of resistance.
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J Intensive Care Med · Jul 2006
Hypophosphatemia in children hospitalized within an intensive care unit.
The aims of this study were to estimate the occurrence of hypophosphatemia and to identify potential risk factors and outcome measures associated with this disturbance in children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit. Data concerning 42 children admitted consecutively to 1 pediatric intensive care unit over a 1-year period were examined. Serum phosphorus levels were measured on the third day of admission, where levels below 3.8 mg/dL were considered indicative of hypophosphatemia. ⋯ Of the potential risk factors such as sepsis, diuretic/steroid therapy, starvation (over 3 days), and Pediatric Index of Mortality, none discriminated for hypophosphatemia. There were no associations between hypophosphatemia and mortality, length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit, or time on mechanical lung ventilation. Hypophosphatemia was a common finding in critically ill children and was associated with malnutrition.
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J Intensive Care Med · Jul 2006
Case ReportsThrombolytic therapy for massive pulmonary embolism in a patient with a known intracranial tumor.
The objective was to describe and review the use of thrombolytic therapy in a patient with an intracranial tumor and massive pulmonary embolism. This is the first reported case of a patient with a known glioblastoma multiforme and massive pulmonary embolism who was successfully treated with alteplase. ⋯ A review of the literature revealed that the incidence of intracranial hemorrhage with thrombolysis is <3% and compares favorably with the much higher mortality rate of 25% to >/=50% in patients with hemodynamically unstable pulmonary emboli. The benefit of thrombolysis may outweigh the risks of intracranial hemorrhage in these patients, and careful consideration for its use in these patients is warranted.