Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Oct 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialDexamethasone for the prevention of postextubation airway obstruction: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
To determine whether dexamethasone prevents postextubation airway obstruction in young children. ⋯ Pretreatment with dexamethasone decreases the frequency of postextubation airway obstruction in children.
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Critical care medicine · Oct 1996
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyA comparison of risks and outcomes for patients with organ system failure: 1982-1990.
To compare the outcomes for patients with one or more organ system failures treated in 1988 to 1990 with those outcomes from 1979 to 1982; to document risk factors for developing organ system failure; and investigate the relationship of these factors to hospital survival. ⋯ Organ system failure remains a major contributor to death in patients in ICUs. The incidence and overall outcome have not significantly changed over the past 8 yrs, but there has been significant improvement in survival for patients with persistent severe organ system failure. A continuous measure of individual patient severity of illness is a more sensitive and accurate method for describing patients and estimating outcome than counting the number of organ system failures.
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Critical care medicine · Oct 1996
Multicenter StudyPlanning patient services for intermediate care units: insights based on care for intensive care unit low-risk monitor admissions.
To describe the technology and nursing services that would be required to care for intensive care unit (ICU) low-risk monitor admissions in an intermediate unit. ⋯ The services received by ICU low-risk monitor admissions provide insight regarding the equipment and nursing care that might be required, and the kinds of emergencies that might occur, if these patients were cared for in medical and surgical intermediate care units. Our data suggest that if ICU low-risk monitor patients were admitted to an intermediate care unit, they would mainly require concentrated nursing care (nurse/patient ratio of 1:3 to 1:4) and limited technologic monitoring.
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Critical care medicine · Oct 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialA randomized, blinded trial of high-dose epinephrine versus standard-dose epinephrine in a swine model of pediatric asphyxial cardiac arrest.
To determine whether high-dose epinephrine administration during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a swine pediatric asphyxial cardiac arrest model improves outcome (i.e., resuscitation rate, survival rate, and neurologic function) compared with standard-dose epinephrine. ⋯ High-dose epinephrine did not improve 2-hr survival rate, 24-hr survival rate, or neurologic outcome. High-dose epinephrine resulted in severe tachycardia and hypertension immediately after resuscitation and in a higher mortality rate immediately after resuscitation.
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Critical care medicine · Oct 1996
Comparative StudyA comparison of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score and the Trauma-Injury Severity Score (TRISS) for outcome assessment in intensive care unit trauma patients.
To assess the ability of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) system and Trauma-Injury Severity Scoring (TRISS) system in predicting group mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) trauma patients. ⋯ Both APACHE II and TRISS scores were shown to accurately predict group mortality in ICU trauma patients. APACHE II and TRISS may be utilized for quality assurance in ICU trauma patients. However, neither APACHE II nor TRISS provides sufficient confidence for prediction of outcome of individual patients.