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In an attempt to reproduce the situation in which a covering physician is called urgently to a patient's bedside because of a ventilator-related problem, this laboratory study sought to determine how readily intensivists could operate new-generation ICU mechanical ventilators with which they were not personally familiar.
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This large-scale clinical trial of exogenous surfactant administration in adult patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) used internationally accepted diagnostic criteria and the ARDS Net lung-protective ventilation protocol in all patients.
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Generally, families of critical care patients are not actively involved in patient care in a consistent or meaningful way.
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(Editor's note: This is a two-part series on prevention of hospital-acquired infections in the ED. This month's issue provides information on avoiding infections when invasive procedures are performed, reducing the risk of infection with peripheral IV insertion, using alternatives to invasive procedures, giving central line education to ED nurses, and decreasing the use of central lines and urinary catheters. Next month, we'll cover how to determine if your patient has arrived at the ED with an infection, tips for cleaning the equipment you use, and strategies to improve compliance with hand hygiene.)
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There continues to be a huge discrepancy between the number of individuals on the national waiting list for vital organ transplant and the number of donor organs available.
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Infection prevention is a priority area of focus for critical care units worldwide.
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As of January 2010, The Joint Commission has incorporated into its Quality Check web site (www.qualitycheck.org/consumer/searchQCR.aspx) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS') 30-day readmission rates for heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia Medicare patients.
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Although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made several minor modifications to the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) for 2010 with impact on the emergency department, none result in a significant change in ED facility coding. However, there are references to several planned projects required to provide data to be used in future reporting and/or rate changes.
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A new process for managing radiological discrepancies in the ED at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, NC, has significantly improved the efficiency with which notifications are received and acted upon.