Articles: intensive-care-units.
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To determine the prevalence of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infections and the risk factors for these infections, identify the predominant infecting organisms, and evaluate the relationship between ICU-acquired infection and mortality. ⋯ ICU-acquired infection is common and often associated with microbiological isolates of resistant organisms. The potential effects on outcome emphasize the importance of specific measures for infection control in critically ill patients.
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To determine the vaccination rate among infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and factors affecting that rate. ⋯ The vaccination rate of infants discharged from the NICU is not optimal. Urban native children appears to be at risk of not being vaccinated. Non-native infants are five times more likely than native infants to have completed all of their scheduled vaccinations. Methods to improve the rate of completed vaccinations, especially for native children, must be sought and tested.
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A prospective cohort study was carried out at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia, to investigate the prevalence of neonatal hypothermia, type of infant care and incidence of mortality. Two-hundred-and-sixty-one infants, aged 0-7 days, admitted to the pediatric unit during the 'warm' season were recruited to the study. Forty-four per cent of the infants were hypothermic (< 36 degrees C) on admission, and admission hypothermia correlated to admission weight and home delivery in the youngest age group (0-24 hours). ⋯ Mean time to reach a body temperature above 35.9 degrees C did not differ between infants kept in a cot and in an incubator. Total numbers of death was 82 (31 per cent) and the mortality was higher in infants who were hypothermic at admission compared to those who were not. This study demonstrates that a change of existing care routines is needed.
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There are few data available from European pediatric intensive care units (PICU) regarding the modes of death and their causes. ⋯ The modes of death in our PICU were statistically not different from those seen in two of four North-American PICUs; LWT was less prevalent than in the two other PICUs, but the patient populations were very different (presence of neonates and many cardiovascular surgery patients). Assessment of the severity of illness at admission and of functional outcome in the survivors are mandatory in future studies.