Most critically ill patients require mechanical ventilation, and, according to one large survey, the weaning process occupies about 40% of the time that patients spend connected to the ventilator.
Exposures to toxic alcohols such as methanol, ethylene glycol, and isopropanol have been reported in the medical literature for decades. These agents are found in a variety of household products, leading to accidental ingestion in the pediatric population and intentional ingestion in the adult population as a suicidal agent or as an inexpensive substitute for ethanol.
Two-part series on complications of pregnancy.