In 2003, Burns and colleagues published a cochrane review of available studies examining the effects of early direct extubation to non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in adult patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure.
In this study examining both the attainment of nutritional goals and the incidence of complications related to enteral feeding, patients in the medical ICU of a university-affiliated tertiary hospital in Taiwan were randomized to nutritional support via nasoduodenal (ND) vs nasogastric (NG) tubes.
Early in my career as a respiratory therapist, we had an unusual piece of equipment in the ICU the Birdmobile. This distinctive piece of equipment was a souped-up walker with wheels, to which we added a Bird Mark 7 ventilator, oxygen tanks, and a seat.
This paper reports on a comprehensive follow-up of patients with severe airway obstruction who were admitted to 92 ICUs or to 3 high-dependency respiratory units in the United Kingdom during 2002 and 2003.
In this issue: Comparing blood pressure medications, determining optimal length of androgen-deprivation therapy, red yeast rice for LDL reduction, and FDA Actions.
A scourge of hospitals for decades, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may finally be on the run, and it's moving in the right direction: from the bedside to the "C-suite." In initiatives that speak to both quality and cost-savings, hospital CEOs are putting their considerable clout behind infection prevention efforts against the most highly publicized health care-associated infection (HAI).
Infection prevention efforts appear to be making a dramatic difference in hospital intensive care units, which are reporting declining rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) central line-associated bloodstream infections (BSIs), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
As recurrent hepatitis outbreaks continue in ambulatory care nationally, there are increasing calls for more oversight and training for health care workers in those settings.
