Articles: intensive-care-units.
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The Spanish Parental Stressor Scale: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (SPSS:PICU) was developed to assess Hispanic parents' perceptions of stressful stimuli in the PICU. Twenty parents completed a personal data sheet and the SPSS:PICU. ⋯ Significant positive correlations were found between SPSS:PICU scores and parents' level of education. Although further instrument validation is suggested, this pilot study of the SPSS:PICU instrument proved to be reliable in assessing Hispanic parents' perceptions of stress.
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Effective policies to reduce true costs will require integrated information systems and demand behavioral changes from providers. A congenial environment must be created among medical educators, providers, vendors, and consumers if cost reduction is to be accomplished without compromising quality or access to critical care services. Physicians should do everything they believe may be of benefit for their patients, but we have an obligation to educate the public about the limitations of our art and the fact that "doing everything" is not always best for the patient or the grieving family. ⋯ We must first contribute more by achieving a greater understanding of the medical care process. Only then can we know how to do less at the bedside. We can and must distinguish between costly and high-quality care--they are not necessarily synonymous.
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Critical care medicine · Feb 1996
Multicenter StudyAcute renal failure in intensive care units--causes, outcome, and prognostic factors of hospital mortality; a prospective, multicenter study. French Study Group on Acute Renal Failure.
To assess the causes, the prognostic factors, and the outcome of patients with severe acute renal failure. ⋯ The hospital mortality rate of patients with severe acute renal failure in patients requiring intensive care remains high. In order to compare patient groups in further trials concerning acute renal failure, recorded characteristics of the population should include age, previous health status, disease characteristics (initial or delayed acute renal failure, oliguria, sepsis), and the severity of the illness as assessed by physiologic scoring systems recorded at the time of study inclusion.
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For the two decades of development, intensive care units and hematology/oncology units have been separate entities, very territorial over their patient populations and precise in their expertise. The interactions between these units were minimal, and, therefore, many misconceptions have developed through the years. Some of these views have truth, and others are challengeable. ⋯ However, with new technologies and therapies being investigated, these two units are interfacing to benefit patient care. Misconceptions can lead to fragmented care of the patient; poor communication between staff, units, patients and family members; and an increased stress level. The intent of this article is to define some of the most common misconceptions between these two disciplines and increase an understanding of each discipline's contribution to the well-being of the patient.