Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2013
Exhaled nitrite/nitrate levels as a marker of respiratory complications after heart valve surgery.
The purposes of this study are to measure the nitric oxide metabolites nitrite and nitrate (NOx) in the exhaled breath condensates (EBCs) of patients submitted to heart valve surgery and to assess the correlation between NOx levels and postoperative respiratory complications. ⋯ Our results suggest that the postoperative NOx level in the EBC is an early marker of respiratory complications after heart valve surgery. Additional studies using large cohorts are necessary to corroborate our results and to better define the clinical usefulness of assessing NOx in the EBC after cardiac surgery.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2013
Prescribing nonopioids in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients.
We searched for factors independently associated with the prescription of multimodal (balanced) analgesia in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. ⋯ In mechanically ventilated patients, the addition of nonopioids to opioids is mostly prescribed for patients with lower illness severity scores and who are able to self-rate their pain intensity. These findings suggest that the concept of multimodal analgesia must be promoted in the intensive care unit.
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The purpose of the study is to evaluate the incidence and hemodynamic consequences of right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in critically ill patients with H1N1 infection. ⋯ These observations emphasize the high incidence of cardiac dysfunction in patients with H1N1 influenza infections.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2013
Effects of the implementation of a preventive interventions program on the reduction of medication errors in critically ill adult patients.
Medication errors (MEs) are a major factor limiting the effectiveness and safety of pharmacological therapies in critically ill patients. The purpose was to determine if a preventive interventions program (PIP) is associated with a significant reduction on prevalence of patients with MEs in intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ The implementation of PIP by a multidisciplinary team resulted in a significant reduction on the prevalence of patients with ME at an adult ICU.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of age on outcome in a large cohort of surgical intensive care unit (ICU) patients. ⋯ Mortality rates increase with age, with an exponential increase in patients older than 65 years. Age is an independent risk factor for in-hospital death, irrespective of the type of surgical intervention.