Articles: intensive-care-units.
-
To identify methods of treatment withdrawal, staff support and follow up of families with children dying in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). ⋯ Family members are willing to take an active part in the decision making process regarding management of the dying child. This process is multidisciplinary, time consuming and difficult. Valuable assistance for all ethnic groups was gained through the services of Te Whanau Atawhai. Consideration should be given to allowing parents to stay during acute resuscitation of a critically ill child. There were deficiencies of both parental and staff followups. As a consequence, we have introduced a grief education and support service through the, child and family psychiatric service for families and staff.
-
Ugeskrift for laeger · Sep 1994
Multicenter Study Clinical Trial[Pneumonia among patients admitted to intensive care units. An epidemiological multicenter study of APACHE II score, incidence and course].
Pneumonia in patients in intensive care units (ICU) is associated with several diagnostic difficulties and high mortality. This study was conducted to describe the diagnostic procedures and clinical characteristics of the pneumonic and critically ill patient in relation to APACHE II score. The material consisted of 193 patients admitted to seven Danish ICUs and is also included in a European epidemiologic survey (EURO. ⋯ The techniques used to diagnose pneumonia were mainly conventional and did not or only seldom include protected brush, bronchoalveolar lavage or pulmonary biosy. The predominant pathogens isolated in tracheal aspirate were Gram-negative bacilli (50%). The APACHE II scoring system was found to stratify patients with respect to mortality, duration of stay and pneumonia diagnosed in ICU.
-
Critical care medicine · Sep 1994
Multicenter StudyImproving intensive care unit discharge decisions: supplementing physician judgment with predictions of next day risk for life support.
To develop predictive equations, estimating the probability that an individual intensive care unit (ICU) patient will receive life support within the next 24 hrs. ⋯ Accurate, objective predictions of next day risk for life support can be developed, using readily available patient information. Supplementing physician judgment with these objective risk assessments deserves evaluation for the role of these assessments in enhancing patient safety and improving ICU resource utilization.
-
Critical care medicine · Sep 1994
Multicenter StudyA method for assessing the clinical performance and cost-effectiveness of intensive care units: a multicenter inception cohort study.
To present an approach for assessing intensive care unit (ICU) performance which takes into account both economic and clinical performance while adjusting for severity of illness. To present a graphic display which permits comparisons among a group of hospitals. ⋯ Cross-indexing of clinical and economic ICU performance is easy to calculate. It has potential as a research and evaluation tool used by physicians, hospital administrators, payers, and others.