Critical Care Alert – March 1, 2012
March 1, 2012
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Special Feature: Reducing Patient Discomfort During Mechanical Ventilatory Support — An Integrated Approach
Patients have referred to receiving mechanical ventilatory support as, "the most inhumane ever experienced".... While mechanical ventilation is one of the most commonly used treatment modalities in the ICU, this life-saving modality causes great anxiety, distress, and discomfort in patients. -
Abstract & Commentary: Treating VAP: The Importance of Getting Initial Antibiotic Coverage Right
This study was a secondary analysis of data from an earlier randomized clinical trial comparing one antibiotic vs two (meropenem alone or meropenem plus ciprofloxacin) as early empiric therapy for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). -
Critical Care Clinicians Require Critical Communication Skills
The purpose of this article was to apply aviation communication principles and strategies to the field of critical care medicine, particularly crisis communication situations. -
Abstract & Commentary: Do Macrolide Antibiotics Improve Survival in Acute Lung Injury?
This is a report of a secondary analysis of data from the original Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Network low-tidal-volume study, which demonstrated improved survival with ventilator tidal volumes of 6 (vs 12) mL/kg predicted body weight in patients meeting the American-European consensus definition of acute lung injury (ALI) or ARDS. -
Pharmacology Watch: Dutasteride and Low-Risk Prostate Cancer
In this issue: New treatment for prostate cancer; avastin and breast cancer; new CMS disclosure rule; and FDA actions. -
Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement