Journal of intensive care medicine
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J Intensive Care Med · May 2004
ReviewPediatric acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: management of oxygenation.
Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) is one of the hallmarks of acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which are caused by an inflammatory process initiated by any of a number of potential systemic and/or pulmonary insults that result in heterogeneous disruption of the capillary-pithelial interface. In these critically sick patients, optimizing the management of oxygenation is crucial. ⋯ Other strategies such as different levels of positive end expiratory pressure, altered inspiration to expiration time ratios, recruitment maneuvers, prone positioning, and extraneous gases or drugs may also affect clinical outcomes. This article reviews state-of-the-art strategies on the management of oxygenation in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in children.
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Health care information systems have the potential to enable better care of patients in much the same manner as the widespread use of the automobile and telephone did in the early 20th century. The car and phone were rapidly accepted and embraced throughout the world when these breakthroughs occurred. However, the automation of health care with use of computerized information systems has not been as widely accepted and implemented as computer technology use in all other sectors of the global economy. In this article, the authors examine the need, risks, and rewards of clinical informatics in health care as well as its specific relationship to critical care medicine.
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Lung transplantation currently is the preferred treatment option for a variety of end-stage pulmonary diseases. Remarkable progress has occurred through refinements in technique and improved understanding of transplant immunology and microbiology. As a result, recipients are surviving longer after their transplant. ⋯ It is thus important that the ICU team have a working knowledge of the common complications, when these complications are most likely to occur, and how best to treat them when they do arise. The main focus of this review is to address the variety of potential graft and life-threatening problems that may occur in lung transplant recipients. Because the ICU is also the most common setting where a potential donor is identified, donor issues will briefly be addressed.
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J Intensive Care Med · Mar 2004
Review Case ReportsApplications of bispectral index monitoring in the pediatric intensive care unit.
The bispectral index (BIS) monitor is an electroencephalographic recording device that generates a single numeric value. It has traditionally been used to measure anesthetic depth and avoid awareness in the operating room setting. ⋯ The scenarios presented include use of the BIS monitor during titration of barbiturate coma, procedural sedation, sedation assessment during mechanical ventilation, and sedation while administering potentially confounding medications. Previous reports regarding the use of the BIS monitor in such scenarios and potential future applications are reviewed
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The homeostatic corrections that have emerged in the course of human evolution to cope with catastrophic events involve a complex multisystem endeavor, of which the endocrine contribution is an integral component. Although the repertoire of endocrine changes has been probed in some detail, discerning the vulnerabilities and failure of this system is far more challenging. The ensuing endocrine topics illustrate some of the current issues reflecting attempts to gain an improved insight and clinical outcome for critical illness.