The Western journal of medicine
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Adult respiratory distress syndrome is a common respiratory emergency which follows a variety of severe direct and indirect lung insults. Major features are severe respiratory distress, diffuse pulmonary infiltrations, reduced compliance and refractory hypoxemia due to shunt effect. ⋯ Supportive care with mechanical ventilation and positive end expiratory pressure results in survival of approximately 50 percent of patients. Only minimal abnormalities in lung function are found in long-term survivors.
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Case Reports Biography Historical Article
Abraham Lincoln and cardiac decompensation: a preliminary report.
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Medical audit and continuing medical education (CME) are now the mainstays of quality assurance in hospitals. Audits should address problems that have serious consequences for patients if proper treatment is not given. The single most important step is the selection of essential or scientific criteria that relate process to outcomes. ⋯ Today, quality assurance increasingly means a near-guarantee to every patient of appropriate treatment and fewest possible complications. Maintenance of the public trust rests on a firm commitment of the medical staff and board to this principle, implemented through an organized program of quality assurance. Under these conditions, medical audit and CME can effectively improve care by improving physician performance.