American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Identifying predictors of length of stay in the intensive care unit can help critical care clinicians prioritize care in patients with acute, life-threatening injuries. ⋯ Systemic inflammatory response syndrome scores can be measured quickly and easily at the bedside. Data support use of the score to predict length of stay in the intensive care unit.
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Although oral health affects systemic health, studies of oral health during intubation among critically ill neuroscience patients are lacking. Furthermore, the effect of oral care on intracranial pressure among critically ill patients in a neuroscience intensive care unit is unknown. ⋯ Intubation may contribute to worsening of oral health among patients in neuroscience intensive care units. Execution of oral care does not seem to affect intracranial pressure adversely. Oral care should be explored further to promote good oral and systemic health in patients in neuroscience intensive care units and to determine its effect on ventilator-associated pneumonia.
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Case Reports
Acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction associated with diclofenac-induced anaphylaxis: case report.
A patient in whom acute myocardial infarction developed during diclofenac-induced anaphylaxis is described. ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is a rare complication of anaphylactic reactions, but can occur even in patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Kounis syndrome due to diclofenac. The patient's recovery was uneventful.