American journal of surgery
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Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is recommended to facilitate the diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). It is unclear if bilateral sampling improves the accuracy of BAL. ⋯ Bilateral BAL improves the accuracy of bronchoscopy in diagnosing VAP. Unilateral BAL may be insensitive in patients with clinically significant contralateral infection.
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Studies have identified clinical predictors to guide radiologic evaluation of the cervical spine in geriatric patients. We hypothesized that clinical predictors are not adequate in the identification of cervical spine fractures in geriatric blunt trauma patients with low-energy mechanism. ⋯ Clinical predictors appear inadequate for the evaluation of the cervical spine in geriatric trauma patients with low-energy mechanism.