Articles: intensive-care-units.
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Problems of infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) center on patients admitted because of sepsis, patients with compromised host defenses and patients subject to invasive procedures. The mortality rate in septic shock is high, 47% in our own study. Escherichia coli was found in half the cases. ⋯ Use of corticosteroids and cimetidine may impair defence mechanisms. The use and abuse of antibiotics is vital to the successful control and treatment of infections in the ICU. Infection has been quoted as the most important single factor which determines the outcome of the intensive care patient.
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A data base system has been designed at the pediatric intensive care unit of St. Görans Hospital in Stockholm. Information on all cases treated during 1982 was retrieved, including information from another file containing data on inpatient stays in the county of Stockholm. ⋯ High mortality and long hospitalization after discharge from the ICU was seen in cases with neurological complications. All information was retrieved interactively from a display terminal at the department. This could be done at any hour of the day.
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Burn care treatment is among the costliest yet least studied forms of care. This paper presents estimates of the magnitude and components of burn care costs. It analyzes the extent to which burn care cost is determined by severity of burns or by characteristics of the institution in which the patient is treated, based on patient-specific data from eight hospitals representing different levels of technical sophistication in the delivery of burn care. ⋯ Many patients with small burns are treated in specialized facilities, at much higher costs than patients treated in general care facilities. Among specialized facilities, patient severity accounts for a portion of the variance in costs, but significant cost differences remain after adjusting for severity. These results suggest that cost-control efforts should concentrate on specifying criteria for admission to specialized burn facilities, regional coordination of facilities and institutions, and improved facilities design and management.