Crit Care Resusc
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To identify factors associated with the triage decision for patients classified as Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Triage Priority 3, and their outcomes. ⋯ For SCCM Triage Priority 3 patients, postoperative status and better physician-predicted prognosis correlated with ICU admission. Patients had lower medium-term survival if they were denied ICU admission, or had higher MPMII0-predicted mortality, or renal disease as the admission diagnosis.
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To test whether applying a continuous riskadjusted charting method, using an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) chart, would have been useful for monitoring outcomes of patients admitted to the intensive care unit at Bundaberg Base Hospital, Queensland, between November 2000 and December 2005. ⋯ Continuous monitoring of outcomes using an EWMA chart may have advantages over other techniques. Had data been available, analysis with an EWMA chart might have prompted review of processes and outcomes among patients at Bundaberg Base Hospital ICU.
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To determine the proportion of hospital staff who pass fit tests with each of three commonly used particulate face masks, and factors influencing preference and fit test results. ⋯ A large proportion of individuals failed a fit test with any given mask, and we were not able to identify any factors that predicted mask fit in individuals. Training on mask use improved the rates of adequate fit. Hospitals should carry a range of P2 masks, and should conduct systematic P2 mask training and fit-testing programs for all staff potentially exposed to airborne pathogens.
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The role of glucocorticoid supplementation in septic shock remains contentious. In septic shock, the driver for steroid therapy is the premise that there is relative adrenal insufficiency (based on reduced plasma cortisol and blunted cortisol response to corticotropin). ⋯ Published evidence indicates that there are cellular adaptations in stress, such as pre-receptor upregulation of cortisol, altered receptor density and gene transcription changes, none of which are reflected by plasma cortisol level. This leads us to postulate that the lack of a clearly defined plasma response in severe stress and the presence of an adequate response at the cellular level suggest it is a "sick euadrenal state", analogous to the sick euthyroid state, and not a sick adrenal indicating adrenal insufficiency.