Articles: intensive-care-units.
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A electrocardiogram (ECG) central station has been developed for the Intensive Care Unit at Christchurch Hospital. The system allows the selection and display of four ECGs selected from seven bedside monitors in the Unit. ⋯ The system comprises a control unit (based on an 8085 microprocessor) and a mobile ECG station (4-channel ECG monitor, ECG recorder and computer terminal). Over the three years since its installation, the central station has been used 24 hours a day by medical and nursing staff and has proven to be a valued and reliable instrument in an intensive care environment.
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We undertook a prospective study of 125 intrahospital patient transports from the ICU in an attempt to identify any factors that could influence the occurrence of mishaps. One third of the transports sustained at least one mishap. Therapeutic intervention scoring system class IV transports had the highest rate of mishaps (35%). ⋯ Morbidity and mortality were not affected by mishaps. Although certain trends did emerge, no clearly defined predictive factor could be identified. Further study into transport mishaps is warranted.
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J Burn Care Rehabil · Mar 1990
Practice Guideline GuidelineHospital and prehospital resources for optimal care of patients with burn injury: guidelines for development and operation of burn centers. American Burn Association.
Each year in the United States burn injuries result in more than 500,000 hospital emergency department visits and approximately 70,000 acute inpatient admissions. Most burn injuries are relatively minor, and patients are discharged following outpatient treatment at the medical facility where they are first seen. Of those patients with injuries serious enough to require hospitalization, about 20,000 are admitted directly or by referral to hospitals with special capabilities in the treatment of burn injury. Hospitals with these service capabilities are normally termed "burn centers." This document defines the system, organizational structure, personnel, program, and physical facilities involved in establishing the eligibility of hospitals with the capability of being identified as burn centers.
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Intensive care nursing · Mar 1990
A description of stressors and coping strategies among parents of critically ill children--a preliminary study.
The purpose of this preliminary study was to describe (1) perceived stressors and (2) coping strategies among parents of critically ill children. Stress and coping within this population has been subjected to little research. The research that has been reported is predominantly quantitative. ⋯ The findings of this study have highlighted deficiencies within the existing literature on stress and coping within this population. There is a need for further qualitative research in this area. This will foster the development of a better understanding of the experience of parents for caregivers and provide a foundation for further research.
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The Journal of pediatrics · Feb 1990
Cost, resource utilization, and severity of illness in intensive care.
The relationship between health care resource use and severity of illness is important to hospitals providing care to sicker patients, so we investigated the relationship between resource utilization, cost, and severity of illness in 229 consecutive patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit. Resources measured included length of stay and number and cost of laboratory and imaging studies. Pediatric intensive care unit and daily mortality risks (assessed by the Physiologic Stability Index and the Dynamic Risk Index) were stratified as very low risk (less than 1%), low risk (1% to 2.5%), moderate risk (2.5% to 5.0%), and high risk (greater than 5%). ⋯ Total resource use, including diagnostic tests and length of stay, also increased with pediatric intensive care unit mortality risk. Diagnostic testing and corresponding costs were significantly higher for infants who died in the pediatric intensive care unit than for survivors on a day-by-day basis as well as for the entire stay in the care unit. We conclude that there is a direct, positive relationship between resource use, cost, and gradations of severity of illness that, if accounted for, would result in more equitable health care reimbursement.