American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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To determine fluctuation in mixed venous oxygen saturation in critically ill medical patients during a period of rest. ⋯ Knowledge of normal fluctuation enables the care giver to evaluate changes in mixed venous oxygen saturation in response to activities and/or treatments. Additional study of fluctuation in homogenous groups of critically ill patients is warranted.
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Decisions to withdraw life-sustaining therapy are being made more often as patients and healthcare providers increase their awareness of patient rights. The process of withdrawal of mechanical ventilation must be conducted in a humane fashion. An understanding of the ethical, legal and practical considerations for patient management during this type of intervention will enhance the ability of the healthcare provider to participate.
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Sodium nitroprusside is an antihypertensive agent used frequently in the critical care setting. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a report that led to a labeling change emphasizing the pharmacokinetics of nitroprusside with metabolism to highly toxic cyanide. ⋯ Cyanide combines with thiosulfate to form the less toxic sodium thiocyanate, which is then excreted. A 10:1 ratio of nitroprusside to thiosulfate in the infusion eliminates the possibility of cyanide intoxication without altering the efficacy of nitroprusside.
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Critical care medicine programs must provide outpatient experience for their fellowship trainees. We have developed an unusual follow-up plan allowing critical care fellows to contact their patients months after their intensive care unit stay. We evaluated responses of 46 patients after a mean interval of 8.6 months since their initial intensive care unit stay. ⋯ Diagnostically, the patients represented the typical medical-surgical intensive care unit population. Patients were asked 11 questions concerning their health and socio-emotional status as it related to their hospitalization and intensive care unit stay. Our results established a practical method of providing outpatient follow-up that may fulfill residency review requirements for critical care fellowships, confirmed previously speculative ideas about ICU experiences, and suggested future research opportunities to study intensive care unit patients following discharge.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Pulmonary artery pressure measurement in patients with elevated pressures: effect of backrest elevation and method of measurement.
To determine whether pulmonary artery pressure measurement is accurate if the head of the bed is elevated; to compare the end-expiratory graphic recording and digital monitor methods for pulmonary artery pressure measurement; to determine whether either mean arterial pressure or mixed venous oxygen saturation changes during backrest elevation. ⋯ These results show that pulmonary artery pressures can be measured accurately with the head of the bed in an elevated position. The data indicate that obtaining pulmonary artery pressure measurements from the digital display of the bedside monitor is accurate when respiratory wave form fluctuations are minimal but may lead to inaccurate values with prominent respiratory fluctuations. Further research is needed to validate this finding in different patient populations and with other models of monitoring equipment.