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In a population-based study using hospital discharge diagnosis codes, patients with sleep apnea who underwent knee arthroplasty or open abdominal procedures were more likely to require invasive mechanical ventilation and to be diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia or ARDS than were matched patients without sleep apnea. Knee-replacement patients, but not those undergoing laparotomy, also were more likely to be diagnosed with pulmonary embolism.
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Cerebrovascular events (CVE), including stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA), are recognized complications of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
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Hypertension is usually asymptomatic, so adherence to drug therapy is an issue, especially if the drugs used cause symptoms.
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Frontal lobe dysfunction may predispose people to have psychogenic nonepileptic seizures; this dysfunction can be measured by analyzing a brief period of the awake EEG.
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This observational study noted that critically ill patients provided with clinical psychological support during their ICU stay had less anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder at one year post-discharge compared to historical controls.
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In a cohort of mechanically ventilated patients admitted with a variety of acute diagnoses, those diagnosed with COPD (but not in exacerbation) had higher ICU mortality but no difference in risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia as compared to patients without the diagnosis of COPD.
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The utility of inflammatory markers in acute pericarditis is not well understood. Thus, these investigators from Italy prospectively evaluated serial high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) serum levels in patients with acute pericarditis followed for 24 months on average.
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Current guidelines recommend hypothermia for comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in whom return of circulation has been achieved.
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In a hospital with high ICU bed occupancy, delays in transferring critically ill patients from the emergency department or general wards to the ICU were associated with increased mortality in comparison with immediate transfer to an ICU bed, and this increased mortality was incrementally greater with increasing delay.
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Involving family members in ICU rounds improved satisfaction in some areas, such as physician communication and decision-making support, but failed to improve overall family satisfaction.
