Articles: critical-illness.
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Intensive care medicine · May 2009
Multicenter StudyHealth-related quality of life as a prognostic factor of survival in critically ill patients.
To evaluate whether health-related quality of life prior to admission into an intensive care unit (ICU) is a prognostic factor of hospital and 1 year mortality. ⋯ Bad quality of life is associated with hospital mortality and survival 12 months after hospital discharge.
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Critical care medicine · May 2009
Multicenter StudyIntensive care unit occupancy and patient outcomes.
Although intensive care units (ICUs) with higher overall patient volume may achieve better outcomes than lower volume ICUs, there are few data on the effects of increasing patient loads on patients within the ICU. ⋯ The ICUs in this data are able to function as high reliability organizations. They are able to scale up their operations to meet the needs of a wide range of operating conditions while maintaining consistent patient mortality outcomes.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2009
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyCritical illness outcomes in specialty versus general intensive care units.
General intensive care units (ICUs) provide care across a wide range of diagnoses, whereas specialty ICUs provide diagnosis-specific care. Risk-adjusted outcome differences across such units are unknown. ⋯ Ideal specialty ICU care appears to offer no survival benefit over general ICU care for select common diagnoses. Non-ideal specialty ICU care (i.e., "boarding") is associated with increased risk-adjusted mortality.
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Multicenter Study
Epidemiology of critically ill children in England and Wales: incidence, mortality, deprivation and ethnicity.
The purpose of this work was to investigate the incidence rate for admission and mortality of children receiving paediatric intensive care in relation to socioeconomic status and ethnicity in England and Wales. ⋯ In England and Wales, the admission rate to paediatric intensive care is higher for children from more deprived areas and 36% higher for children from the south Asian population. Risk-adjusted mortality increases in south Asian children as deprivation decreases.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Dexmedetomidine vs midazolam for sedation of critically ill patients: a randomized trial.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor agonist medications are the most commonly used sedatives for intensive care unit (ICU) patients, yet preliminary evidence indicates that the alpha(2) agonist dexmedetomidine may have distinct advantages. ⋯ There was no difference between dexmedetomidine and midazolam in time at targeted sedation level in mechanically ventilated ICU patients. At comparable sedation levels, dexmedetomidine-treated patients spent less time on the ventilator, experienced less delirium, and developed less tachycardia and hypertension. The most notable adverse effect of dexmedetomidine was bradycardia.