Articles: patients.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Nov 2006
Is there a "right" way to wean my patient from the ventilator? A critical appraisal of Randolph et al: Effect of mechanical ventilator weaning protocols on respiratory outcomes in infants and children: A randomized controlled trial (JAMA 2002; 288:2561-2568).
To review the findings and discuss the implications of mechanical ventilator weaning protocols in children. ⋯ The majority of children are weaned from mechanical ventilation over a short period of time. Weaning protocols may not shorten this brief duration of weaning but may have other advantages such as improved collaboration between healthcare team members. Future research into the effects of sedation on weaning from mechanical ventilation is needed in children.
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Eleven vertebroplasty operations were studied in terms of radiation dose. ⋯ Measures have to be taken to reduce patient's skin dose, which, in extreme cases, may be close to deterministic effects threshold. The highest dose rates, recorded during the procedure, were found for primary operator's hands and chest when no shielding was used.
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To determine the number of brain CT scans carried out in patients with mild head injury (MHI) during 13 months of trauma registry, and to investigate means of reducing the rate of unnecessary scans. ⋯ Patients who have GCS score of 13 or 14 on admission should be considered to have a moderate rather than a mild head injury. For reduction of unnecessary brain CT scan performance in MHI patients, we must define the appropriate criteria.
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The health status of patients with sarcoidosis has rarely been studied, despite the increasing numbers of health-related quality of life publications on other respiratory diseases. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether sarcoidosis affects quality of life (QoL), using specifically designed questionnaires for respiratory diseases as well as general health measures, and to compare these with pulmonary function indices. Our secondary aim was to determine whether these measurements are correlated with pulmonary function tests and duration of the disease. ⋯ Quality of life is affected in patients with active sarcoidosis. The SGRQ questionnaire could be a useful tool for the investigation of HRQoL in an active sarcoid population with varying degrees of lung function impairment. Future studies are needed to address the ability of these instruments to measure HRQoL in the course of this chronic disease.