Search results for "Intensive care units"

How to manage aspergillosis in non-neutropenic intensive care unit patients.

2014

Invasive aspergillosis has been mainly reported among immunocompromised patients during prolonged periods of neutropenia. Recently, however, non-neutropenic patients in the ICU population have shown an increasing risk profile for aspergillosis. Associations with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and corticosteroid therapy have been frequently documented in this cohort. Difficulties in achieving a timely diagnosis of aspergillosis in non-neutropenic patients is related to the non-specificity of symptoms and to lower yields with microbiological tests compared to neutropenic patients. Since high mortality rates are typical of invasive aspergillosis in critically ill patients, a high level …

Non-invasive ventilation in postoperative patients: A systematic review

2010

Background: Postoperative pulmonary complications, generally defined as any pulmonary abnormality occurring in the postoperative period, are still a significant issue in clinical practice increasing hospital length of stay, morbidity and mortality. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV), primarily applied in cardiogenic pulmonary edema, decompensated COPD and hypoxemic pulmonary failure, is nowadays also used in perioperative settings. Objective: Investigate the application and results of preventive and therapeutic NIV in postsurgical patients. Design: A systematic review. Data sources: Medical literature databases were searched for articles about "clinical trials," "randomized controlled trials" a…

Optimised versus standard dosing of vancomycin in infants with Gram-positive sepsis (NeoVanc): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 2b, non-i…

2022

Summary Background Vancomycin is the most widely used antibiotic for neonatal Gram-positive sepsis, but clinical outcome data of dosing strategies are scarce. The NeoVanc programme comprised extensive preclinical studies to inform a randomised controlled trial to assess optimised vancomycin dosing. We compared the efficacy of an optimised regimen to a standard regimen in infants with late onset sepsis that was known or suspected to be caused by Gram-positive microorganisms. Methods NeoVanc was an open-label, multicentre, phase 2b, parallel-group, randomised, non-inferiority trial comparing the efficacy and toxicity of an optimised regimen of vancomycin to a standard regimen in infants aged …

An intensive midsummer night’s dream

2018

Analysis of Candida auris candidemia cases in an Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary hospital

2021

Abstract Candida auris is a multi-resistant emerging fungus. Objectives To analyze the relationship between colonization by C. auris and the appearance of invasive candidiasis. Description of the sample of colonized patients, risk factors for colonization and/or infection, and calculation of mortality rates. Methodology Longitudinal observational study in an anesthesia intensive care unit in 2018. Results 2130 patients were admitted. Surveillance studies were positive in 124 patients; 118 cases involved skin colonization and 52 were pharyngeal. Patients with a positive blood culture were identified. A statistically significant association was found between pharyngeal colonization and the ap…

Dressings and Securement Devices of Peripheral Arterial Catheters in Intensive Care Units and Operating Theaters

2020

Background: Hemodynamic monitoring, implemented by the placement of peripheral arterial catheters (PACs), is a characterizing aspect of the intensive care units. Peripheral arterial catheters can continually detect blood pressure and quickly conduct blood sampling. The use of PACs is generally considered safe, without serious complications. Currently, only 25% of the implanted catheters are actually subject to complications, including accidental removal, dislocation, occlusion, and infection. All of these complications arise from inadequate catheter stabilization at the level of the skin. This study aimed to summarize and describe the effectiveness and characteristics of dressings and secur…

Medical simulation for ICU staff: does it influence safety of care?

2016

Dear Editor, We read with great interest the article by Garrouste-Orgeas et al. entitled ‘‘Understanding medical errors and adverse events in ICU patients’’ [1]. In particular, two sentences caught our attention: ‘‘medical errors are the consequence of multiple actions of a whole chain of organizational and humans interaction...’’ and ‘‘leadership, trust, respect, open communication, non-punitive actions and coordination of behavior are essential for a multidisciplinary ICU team to provide safe care’’. In a teamworking setting like the ICU, shared knowledge and non-technical skills are pivotal to deliver a high quality of care and to reduce medical errors. Medical simulation has been demons…

Assessment and treatment of the withdrawal syndrome in paediatric intensive care units

2020

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The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on ICU Healthcare Professionals: A Mixed Methods Study

2021

The large numbers of patients admitted to intensive care units due to COVID-19 has had a major impact on healthcare professionals. The incidence of mental health disorders among these professionals has increased considerably and their professional quality of life has suffered during the pandemic. This study aims to explore the impact of the provision of COVID-19 patient care on ICU healthcare professionals. A mixed methods study with an exploratory concurrent design was conducted between June and November 2020 in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Data were collected using a self-report online survey (n = 122) based on three validated questionnaires, and individual semi-structured in-depth online…

Fasting does not guarantee empty stomach in the intensive care unit: A prospective ultrasonographic evaluation (The NUTRIGUS study).

2021

BACKGROUND In the intensive care unit (ICU), a fasting period is usually respected to avoid gastric aspiration during airway management procedures. Since there are no recognised guidelines, intensive care physicians balance the aspiration risk with the negative consequences of underfeeding. Our objective was to determine the impact of fasting on gastric emptying in critically ill patients by using gastric ultrasound. MATERIAL AND METHODS Among the 112 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 100 patients were analysed. Gastric ultrasonography was performed immediately before extubation. Patients with either 1/ an absence of visualised gastric content (qualitative evaluation) or 2/ a gastri…