Respiratory care
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Insufficient data are available about the noise produced by modern neonatal ventilators. We aimed to measure their noise under different ventilatory modes and parameters. ⋯ Modern ventilators often produce relevant noise, independent of the respiratory support modality, with acceptable noise levels being measured only outside the incubator. Better results were achieved with Servo-u, VN500, and Fabian family devices.
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Review Meta Analysis
Risk of Fracture and Osteoporosis in Patients With COPD and Inhaled Corticosteroids Treatment.
There are disputes whether inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) increase the incidence of fracture or osteoporosis among patients with COPD. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the effect of ICS treatment on the risk of fracture and osteoporosis in subjects with COPD. ⋯ ICS use did not increase the incidence of fracture or osteoporosis in subjects with COPD.
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Mechanical ventilation is ubiquitous in critical care, and duration of ventilator liberation is variable and multifactorial. While ICU survival has increased over the last two decades, positive-pressure ventilation can cause harm to patients. Weaning and discontinuation of ventilatory support is the first step in ventilator liberation. ⋯ New tools such as diaphragmatic ultrasonography have begun to appear in the literature as a tool for outcome prediction. A number of systematic reviews with both meta-analysis and network meta-analysis that synthesize the literature on ventilator liberation have also been published in the last year. This review describes changes in performance, monitoring of spontaneous breathing trials, and evaluations of successful ventilator liberation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Alleviation of Dyspnea and Changes in Physical Activity Level by Blowing Air to the Face with a Fan.
Dyspnea is an unpleasant subjective symptom and is associated with decreased physical activity level (PAL). Effect of blowing air toward the face has received a great deal of attention as a symptomatic therapy for dyspnea. However, little is known about the duration of its effect and its impact on PAL. Therefore, this study aimed to measure dyspnea severity and changes in dyspnea and PALs with air blasts to the face. ⋯ No significant difference was observed for dyspnea and PALs in subjects after blowing air toward their own faces with a small fan for 3 weeks at home. Disease variability and impact of protocol violations were high due to small number of cases. Further studies with a design focused on subject protocol adherence and measurement methods are required to understand impact of air flow on dyspnea and PAL.
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Caregivers of tracheostomized children must learn and demonstrate multiple tracheostomy care skills. At our hospital, caregiver education is provided through a combination of written instructions, classroom sessions, hands-on practice with a manikin, and bedside demonstration. As part of a quality improvement initiative, caregivers were provided a training doll to practice skills. ⋯ The majority of caregivers utilized the training doll to practice tracheostomy skills and found it helpful for training. The training doll did not significantly impact hospital LOS or time to complete training. Use of a training doll to practice tracheostomy skills is an additional tool to assist caregivers with learning required skills prior to discharge home.