Articles: intensive-care-units.
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To evaluate patterns of usage and monitoring of nutritional support in a Pediatric ICU of a teaching hospital and the role of an education program in nutritional support given throughout the resident physician training. ⋯ There were deficiencies in the implementation of nutritional support, which were partially corrected in the second phase of the study by the training of the residents. Reinforcement of the education program, which should be applied to the whole medical staff, and the organization of a multidisciplinary team in charge of coordinating the provision of nutritional support are suggested.
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Few topics have generated as much controversy as visitation policies in critical care units. This national survey of nurses caring for acute myocardial infarction patients reveals that the number of nurses working in units with an open visiting policy has increased substantially. Open-ended responses reveal the complex judgement that goes into nurses' decisions about whether or not to allow visitors. This article offers managers, educators, advanced practice nurses, and bedside clinicians insight into the factors that nurses consider when making these decisions.
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Critical care medicine · Jan 1998
Multicenter StudyEvaluation of two outcome prediction models on an independent database.
To evaluate the performance of the New Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS II) and the admission Mortality Probability Model (MPM0) in a large independent database, using formal statistical assessment. ⋯ The original SAPS II and MPM0 models did not accurately predict mortality on an independent large international multicenter ICU patient database. Results of studies utilizing general outcome prediction models without previous validation in the target population should be interpreted with prudence.
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Critical care medicine · Jan 1998
Multicenter StudyConfidence in life-support decisions in the intensive care unit: a survey of healthcare workers. Canadian Critical Care Trials Group.
To examine the relationship between intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare workers' confidence and their decision to withdraw life support. ⋯ While confidence in decisions about withdrawal of life support increases with seniority and authority, consistency of decisions may not. When given standard information, healthcare workers can make contradictory decisions yet still be very confident about the level of care they would administer.