Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Sep 2008
Families' interactions with physicians in the intensive care unit: the impact on family's satisfaction.
The objective of this study is to correlate the levels of satisfaction of family members, with their perception of the way information was offered and assistance delivered during the patient's stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ Family satisfaction and understanding in the ICU may improve if the doctors are more accessible to provide information and the staff strive to better explain the patient's condition.
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Journal of critical care · Sep 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialEarly decompressive craniectomy for patients with severe traumatic brain injury and refractory intracranial hypertension--a pilot randomized trial.
The aims of this study were to test the feasibility and to assess potential recruitment rates in a pilot study preliminary to a phase III randomized trial of decompressive craniectomy surgery in patients with diffuse traumatic brain injury (TBI) and refractory intracranial hypertension. ⋯ In patients with severe TBI and refractory intracranial hypertension, the frequency of favorable neurologic outcomes (independent living) was low and similar to predicted values (40% favorable). A future multicenter phase III trial involving 18 neurotrauma centers with most sites conservatively recruiting at just 25% of the pilot study rate would require at least 5 years to achieve an estimated 210-patient sample size. Collaboration with neurotrauma centers in countries other than Australia and New Zealand would be required for such a phase III trial to be successful.
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Journal of critical care · Sep 2008
Comparative Study Clinical TrialHistamine 2 receptor antagonists vs intravenous proton pump inhibitors in a pediatric intensive care unit: a comparison of gastric pH.
The aim of this study was to assess gastric pH in critically ill pediatric patients receiving intravenous stress ulcer medication. ⋯ Many critically ill pediatric patients receiving stress ulcer prophylaxis have a trough or peak gastric pH more acidic than 4.
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Journal of critical care · Sep 2008
Modeling in-hospital patient survival during the first 28 days after intensive care unit admission: a prognostic model for clinical trials in general critically ill patients.
The objective of the study was to develop a model for estimating patient 28-day in-hospital mortality using 2 different statistical approaches. ⋯ Both statistical methods can be used to model the 28-day in-hospital mortality better than the SAPS 3 admission model. However, because the logistic regression approach is specifically designed to forecast 28-day mortality, and given the high uncertainty associated with the assumption of the proportionality of risks in the Cox model, the logistic regression approach proved to be superior.
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Journal of critical care · Sep 2008
The importance of differentiating between elective and emergency postoperative critical care patients.
The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the importance of separately analyzing data on elective and emergency surgery patients admitted postoperatively to intensive and intermediate care units. ⋯ Substantial differences between elective and emergency surgery patients have important implications when conducting and reporting research on the nature, extent, and outcome of postoperative ICU care.