Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Nov 1999
Comparative Study Clinical TrialIntermittent prone positioning in the treatment of severe and moderate posttraumatic lung injury.
Severe posttraumatic lung injury is characterized by impairment of gas exchange and pulmonary densities. The influence of intermittent prone positioning on pulmonary gas exchange and parenchymal densities was investigated prospectively in patients with pulmonary injury after multiple trauma with blunt chest trauma. ⋯ Repeated prone positioning recruits collapsed lung tissue and improves gas exchange in trauma patients with blunt chest trauma and severe ARDS as well as in trauma patients with acute lung injury.
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Critical care medicine · Nov 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialEfficacy of recombinant human erythropoietin in the critically ill patient: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
To determine whether the administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) to critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) would reduce the number of red blood cell (RBC) transfusions required. ⋯ The administration of rHuEPO to critically ill patients is effective in raising their Hct concentrations and in reducing the total number of units of RBCs they require.
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Critical care medicine · Nov 1999
Editorial Comment ReviewCorticosteroids and the neutrophil: cutting both ways.
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Critical care medicine · Nov 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialThe effect of acidified enteral feeds on gastric colonization in critically ill patients: results of a multicenter randomized trial. Canadian Critical Care Trials Group.
To evaluate the effect of acidified enteral feeds on gastric colonization in critically ill patients compared with a standard feeding formula. ⋯ Acidified enteral feeds preserve gastric acidity and substantially reduce gastric colonization in critically ill patients. Larger studies are needed to examine its effect on ventilator-associated pneumonia and mortality.
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Critical care medicine · Nov 1999
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialContinuous infusions of lorazepam, midazolam, and propofol for sedation of the critically ill surgery trauma patient: a prospective, randomized comparison.
To compare the efficacy, safety, and cost of continuous infusions of lorazepam, midazolam, and propofol in a critically ill trauma/surgery patient population. ⋯ The data suggest that lorazepam appears to be a cost-effective choice for sedation; however, oversedation may be problematic. Midazolam is the most titratable drug in our population, avoiding excessive oversedation or undersedation. Trauma patients may respond inadequately to propofol even at higher doses. Lorazepam may be the sedative of choice in critically ill trauma/surgery patients.