Resp Care
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Measurements of chest wall circumference are commonly used by physical therapists in clinical practice in order to determine chest wall mobility. However, the variability in the method for measuring this has not been reported previously among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. ⋯ In summary, despite high reliability of intra-observer and inter-observer measurements, both within and between visits, high variability was observed in all chest wall mobility measurements. Although there was an association between inspiratory capacity and measurements made at the abdominal level, chest wall mobility did not correlate with pulmonary function.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Automatic tube compensation as an adjunct for weaning in patients with severe neuroparalytic snake envenomation requiring mechanical ventilation: a pilot randomized study.
This study aimed to evaluate if the combination of pressure-support ventilation (PSV) and automatic tube compensation (ATC) is superior to PSV alone in weaning patients with severe neurotoxic snake envenoming receiving mechanical ventilation. ⋯ The addition of ATC to a standard PSV-based weaning protocol significantly shortened time needed to wean patients with severe neurotoxic snake envenoming, without changing the duration of medical care, morbidity, or mortality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Hallway versus treadmill 6-minute-walk tests in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The 6-min-walk test is widely used for functional evaluation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the test requires a 30-m unobstructed hallway, which is not available in all institutions. A treadmill 6-min walk test might be more practical. ⋯ The hallway and treadmill walk tests are not interchangeable. We need further study and standardization of the treadmill 6-min walk test.
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To determine the relationship between tracheostomy tube in place after intensive-care-unit (ICU) discharge and hospital mortality. ⋯ In our critical-care setting, lack of decannulation of conscious tracheostomized patients before ICU discharge to the general ward was associated with higher mortality.
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Nutritional support is frequently neglected in a busy intensive care unit (ICU) with overworked staff. There is a paucity of investigations on ICU nutrition from India. ⋯ Calorie and protein delivery to critically ill patients remains less than the recommended values. Inadequate calorie delivery is associated with higher odds of mortality.