Articles: intensive-care-units.
-
The most critically ill patients in the hospital are located in the ICU. Due to intensive individualized care and monitoring, these patients often suffer from severe sleep deprivation. ⋯ Reasons for sleep deprivation appear to be multifactorial and include the following: the patient's chronic underlying illness, an acute superimposed illness or surgical procedure, medications used in treatment of the primary illness, and the ICU environment itself. Therapeutic interventions need to address each of these potential causes, with an emphasis placed on providing an environment that is both diurnal and focused on the importance of uninterrupted sleep.
-
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · Jun 1995
A cluster of fever and hypotension on a surgical intensive care unit related to the contamination of plasma expanders by cell wall products of Bacillus stearothermophilus.
To evaluate an outbreak of fever and hypotension after cardiac surgical procedures and the role of polygeline, a plasma expander. ⋯ Use of polygeline was associated with an outbreak of fever and hypotension in a SICU. Information from the manufacturer indicated the likelihood of contamination of the product with Bacillus stearothermophilus components. The manufacturer has since changed the production and control processes, and no further adverse events have been seen.
-
This article examines the impact of greater management involvement by the medical director on efficiency of bed allocation in the intensive care unit (ICU) or critical care unit. Managerial involvement is modeled using a principal components approach in terms of perceived supervision, conflict resolution regarding bed allocation at critical times, extent of control over treatment, and employment status. ⋯ It was found that greater involvement by medical directors in the day-to-day management of the ICU significantly reduces the average occupancy rate in ICUs and also the probability of patients misallocated to the ICU, suggesting superior resource allocation in ICUs as a result. These results also suggest that the managerial impact of the medical director is greater in ICUs in high-occupancy hospitals.