Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Jun 2017
Delayed Referral Results in Missed Opportunities for Organ Donation After Circulatory Death.
Rates of organ donation and transplantation have steadily increased in the United States and Canada over the past decade, largely attributable to a notable increase in donation after circulatory death. However, the number of patients awaiting solid organ transplantation continues to remain much higher than the number of organs transplanted each year. The objective of this study was to determine the potential to increase donation rates further by identifying gaps in the well-established donation after circulatory death process in Ontario. ⋯ The number of medically suitable patients who die within 2 hours of planned withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy is nearly six times higher than the number of actual organ donors, with the greatest loss of potential due to delayed referral until at the time of or after planned withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy. Intensive care teams are not meeting their ethical responsibility to recognize impending death and appropriately refer potential organ donors to the local organ procurement organization. In cases where patients had previously registered their consent decision, they were denied a healthcare right.
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Critical care medicine · Jun 2017
Effectiveness Analysis of a Part-Time Rapid Response System During Operation Versus Nonoperation.
To evaluate the effect of a part-time rapid response system on the occurrence rate of cardiopulmonary arrest by comparing the times of rapid response system operation versus nonoperation. ⋯ The implementation of a part-time rapid response system reduced the cardiopulmonary arrest incidence based on the reduction of cardiopulmonary arrest during rapid response system operating times. Further analysis of the cost effectiveness of part-time rapid response system is needed.
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Critical care medicine · Jun 2017
Editorial CommentInflammatory Signatures in ICU-Acquired Weakness.