Thoracic surgery clinics
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Thoracic surgery clinics · Nov 2012
ReviewPsychosocial issues facing lung transplant candidates, recipients and family caregivers.
Although lung transplantation is an accepted treatment for many individuals with severe lung disease, transplant candidates and recipients experience a range of psychosocial stressors that begin at the initiation of the transplant evaluation and continue throughout patients' wait for donor lungs, their perioperative recovery, and their long-term adjustment to posttransplant life. Transplant programs should strive to incorporate evidence-based interventions that aim to improve physical functioning, psychological distress, global quality of life, and medical adherence as well as to integrate symptom management and palliative care strategies throughout the pre- and posttransplantation course.
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Patient safety has been the subject of surgical investigation for the past century. A specific focus on safety and medical errors has incited public attention, government oversight, and research funding. ⋯ A critical analysis of medical errors, their frequency and cause, and outcomes associated with their occurrence has allowed the identification of system-based issues and the implementation of corrective changes to improve these systems. Constant vigilance examining errors and how they occur will allow identification of strategies to reduce errors.
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Thoracic surgery clinics · Nov 2012
ReviewSurviving the intensive care: residual physical, cognitive, and emotional dysfunction.
Patients recovering from critical illness may suffer from physical, psychological, and cognitive problems that have a negative impact on their health-related quality of life. To ensure that patients return as close as possible to their previous physical and mental health, their rehabilitation needs should be assessed and an appropriate program started. Both early mobilization and physical rehabilitation while the patient is still in the intensive care unit and manualized rehabilitation after discharge are beneficial. It is important to assess the rehabilitation needs of patients and target physiotherapy and counseling resources at those patients with the greatest need.