Critical care medicine
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Rapid response systems have been advocated as a potential model to identify and intervene in patients who are experiencing deterioration on general hospital wards. ⋯ We found weak evidence that rapid response systems are associated with a reduction in hospital mortality and cardiac arrest rates, but limitations in the quality of the original studies, the wide confidence intervals, and the presence of heterogeneity limited our ability to conclude that rapid response systems are effective interventions. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify the efficacy of rapid response systems before they should become standard of care.
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Critical care medicine · May 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyMyocardial infarction following coronary artery bypass graft surgery increases healthcare resource utilization.
To assess the health economic impact of perioperative myocardial infarction in a cohort of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. ⋯ Myocardial infarction following coronary artery bypass graft surgery was associated with a significant increase in intensive care unit time, hospital length of stay, and overall costs, which contributed to greater hospital and physician service costs. Healthcare resource utilization is increased in patients sustaining a myocardial infarction following coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
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Critical care medicine · May 2007
Multicenter Study Comparative StudySepsis incidence and outcome: contrasting the intensive care unit with the hospital ward.
To describe the outcome of patients with sepsis according to location on a ward or in an intensive care unit. ⋯ This study shows the high incidence of sepsis in a general population of patients admitted to hospital. A significant proportion of patients with severe sepsis are not transferred to the intensive care unit.