Articles: critical-care.
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Statistical analyses show, that the factor of human error is by far a more frequent cause of helicopter accidents than is technical failure. The Crew Coordination Concept is an attempt to improve safety conditions. The particularly difficult conditions encountered on EMS flights in mountain terrain call for special training programs. Smaller helicopter models have a limited altitude range for operation.
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Langenbecks Arch Chir Suppl Kongressbd · Jan 1996
[Treatment of postoperative lung failure with prone positioning].
Of forty-three consecutive patients with severe adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) treated in the prone position pulmonary function improved significantly in 39 patients during the first 12 h in prone position. Changes were most pronounced in patients with high QS/QT, as well as in patients in the early stages of ARDS. Twenty-eight patients could be weaned from the ventilator, and 22 patients were able to leave the hospital. These results suggest that prone position has an important role in the overall therapeutic approach to ARDS and should be used as early as possible.
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Langenbecks Arch Chir Suppl Kongressbd · Jan 1996
[Emergency care and treatment costs of polytrauma patients].
Treatment costs of emergency therapy, surgery and intensive care were analysed in 20 randomly chosen, representative patients with severe multiple trauma (mean ISS 32 p). For an average stay of about 22.5 days on ICU, the total costs were DM 106924.36 (about 70,000 US $). DM 39,635.88 (= 37%) were the costs for physicians and nurses; DM 67,289.08 (= 63%) were needed for materials, X-rays, laboratory investigations, drugs and blood components. ⋯ In Germany, a new way of compensation by a diagnosis-related group was introduced in 1996. These data suggest that treatment of severe multiple trauma is very expensive and trauma care could be economically harmful for smaller hospitals. We conclude that treatment of multiply injured patients (ISS > 16 p) should be compensated for by a special daily amount of about DM 5000 (about 3500 US $) for selected trauma centres.
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A prospective documentation of patients data on an internal and a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) has been transacted. The physician and nursing staff used an online electronic documentation program, which has been developed in Frankfurt. Main emphasis has been placed on the epidemiological data, clinical diagnoses as well as diagnostically and therapy costs. ⋯ Patients underwent 2.2 +/- 0.12 chest x-rays and 1.4 +/- 0.1 ultrasound investigations. The study shows that an online data processing is practicable and can be integrated in the daily work flow. Furthermore, it can be seen that the collected data play an important role to secure the increasing administrative requisition to the modern medicine in view of costs and quality management.
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Langenbecks Arch Chir Suppl Kongressbd · Jan 1996
[Economic considerations in critically ill intensive care patients].
Since 1992 the data for all patients referred to our ICU have been entered on computer and analyzed for parameters relevant to therapeutic effectiveness on the one hand and cost-containment on the other. The analysis of data for 5424 patients concerning APACHE II-score, age, number of ICU days, time of mechanical ventilation and/or hemodialysis, cardio-respiratory complications and insufficiency, ICU discharge date and hospital discharge date demonstrates a profile or our intensive care services using all resources efficiently. The data revealed no ethically acceptable parameter or necessity to include economic considerations in medical decisions which had to be taken for individual patients and situations.