Critical Care Alert
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Medical Emergency Teams: Does Rapid Response Make a Difference?
The use of a rapid response system (RRS), or medical emergency team (MET), has become established as a patient safety measure to ensure early detection of patient compromise.Special Feature: Should All ICUs Have 24/7 In-house Intensivist Coverage?
One of the hottest topics in critical care these days is whether all ICUs should be staffed around the clock, seven days a week (24/7), by physicians with special training and qualifications in critical care (intensivists).Pharmacology Watch: Aggressive Modification of Cardiovascular Risk Factors
In this issue: Aggressive approach to CVD reÿClinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement
Tracheotomy: Why and When
Terragni et al performed this 4-year-long multicenter randomized controlled trial to determine whether early (6-8 days) vs late (13-15 days) tracheotomy would reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) incidence.Can We Extubate Seemingly Unweanable Patients with Neuromuscular Disease?
Patients with neuromuscular disease who are intubated and subsequently fail multiple spontaneous breathing trials are often relegated to placement of a tracheo-stomy and continuous mechanical ventilation.Pharmacology Watch: PPIs, Clostridium difficile, and Bone Fractures
In this issue: New reports about proton pump inhibitors and the effects of gastric suppression, pioglitazone vs vitamin E for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, metformin and vitamin B12 deficiency, and FDA Actions.Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement
Oral Nutritional Intake Among Critically Ill Patients Is Grossly Deficient in the Week Following Extubation
Peterson and colleagues at rush university medical Center carried out an observational study of ICU patients' oral nutritional intake in the 7 days following extubation after mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure.Does "Auto-anticoagulation" Protect Against VTE in Patients with Liver Disease?
This study sought to determine whether the coagulo-pathy associated with chronic liver disease specifically the elevated International Normalized Ratio (INR) frequently present in patients with advanced disease is protective against venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized patients.