Medicina intensiva
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Bronchoalveolar lavage is the most effective treatment of alveolar proteinosis. We describe a variant of the usual technique. In a clinical case, we performed bronchoalveolar lavage sequentially in both lungs, without needing to stop the technique after completing the lavage of the first lung, with significant clinical improvement of the patient (pulmonary compliance and saturation). ⋯ Lavage of both lungs permitted discharge to ward in less than 24 hours. The result at middle term was similar to the conventional technique. Lavage could be performed again on several occasions with the same clinical tolerance.
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Intermediate Care Units are forms to provide health care services to potentially critical patients that allow for improved cost-benefit ratio of the care offered by Intensive Medicine Departments. ⋯ Initiating an intermediate care unit depending on an IMD increases its health care capacity and that of the center it gives service to without affecting global mortality.