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The FDA has approved vardenafil (LevitraBayer and GlaxoSmithKline) for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men. Vardenafil joins sildenafil (Viagra) as the only 2 drugs approved for this indication in this country.
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Specialty beds marketed for ICU patients range from simple air-filled mattresses designed for use on ordinary hospital beds to high-tech, electronically controlled rotating or vibrating devices.
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The ARDSNetwork trial that began in 1996 (ARMA trial)1 was designed to test the validity of using lower tidal volumes in mechanical ventilators was halted because critics who were not a part of the ARDSNetwork argued that the control arm chosen was harmful and unethical.
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A wide variety of therapeutic interventions have failed to produce a significant change in the mortality of critically ill patients. Studies of these interventions include numerous trials of anti-inflammatory agents in sepsis, the trial involving growth hormone in critically ill patients, as well as a host of other investigations.
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To determine practices regarding use of closed-system suctioning (CSS) and airway management of intubated patients, Sole and colleagues surveyed a national sample of 1665 registered nurses (RNs) and respiratory therapists (RTs) in 27 institutions.
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Warren and colleagues performed a nonrandomized pre- and postobservational trial of an educational intervention to prevent catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CABSIs) in a 500-bed private community hospital in Missouri.
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Most large hospitals today have dedicated icu nutritionists who make nutritional recommendations for every critically ill patient admitted.
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Health care workers are expected to practice without error, an ideal that in reality does not occur. In fact, errors occur more frequently that we would prefer.1-3 Because the likelihood of adverse events tends to increase with the severity of illness and complexity of care, the risk for errors is especially high in critical care settings.