Critical Care Alert – February 1, 2012

February 1, 2012

• Abstract & Commentary: High Mortality in Patients with COPD Exacerbations Who Fail Noninvasive Ventilation

  Until now, getting a handle on the utilization and outcomes of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in the management of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in the United States has been hampered by the absence of a nationwide database on this important condition.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Detecting Airflow Obstruction in the Mechanically Ventilated Patient

  Lemyze and colleagues studied a simple bedside procedure for detecting expiratory airflow obstruction in intubated, mechanically ventilated patients.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Patients Placed in Contact Isolation Are at Increased Risk for Delirium

  To examine the association between being placed in contact isolation and delirium, Day and colleagues at the University of Maryland Medical Center reviewed administrative data on all patients admitted during a 2-year period ending in 2009.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Perceived Inappropriateness of Care Among ICU Clinicians

  This study was a survey of all the physicians and nurses working in 82 adult ICUs on a particular day in 2010. It was conducted by a study group of the Ethics Section of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, and the ICUs involved were in nine European countries plus Israel.

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• Pharmacology Watch: New, Shorter Treatment Regimen for Tuberculosis

  In this issue: New treatment for TB; safety of dabigatran; quality of antidepressants; systolic hypertension treatment; and FDA actions.

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• Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement

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