Articles: intensive-care-units.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Pharmacist participation on physician rounds and adverse drug events in the intensive care unit.
Pharmacist review of medication orders in the intensive care unit (ICU) has been shown to prevent errors, and pharmacist consultation has reduced drug costs. However, whether pharmacist participation in the ICU at the time of drug prescribing reduces adverse events has not been studied. ⋯ The presence of a pharmacist on rounds as a full member of the patient care team in a medical ICU was associated with a substantially lower rate of ADEs caused by prescribing errors. Nearly all the changes were readily accepted by physicians.
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To investigate the nature and duration of clinical instability (i.e., abnormalities in simple physical observations or laboratory test results) in hospital patients before a "critical event" (i.e., a cardiac arrest or an unplanned admission to intensive care). ⋯ Very few patients suffer a CE while in hospital. However, those who do frequently manifest abnormalities in simple physical observations and laboratory test results before the CE. More rapid intervention in response to warning signs might provide a better outcome for these patients.