Intensive care is not expensive compared with other treatments

Oropharyngeal decontamination in intensive care patients: less is not more

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common cause of morbidity, antibiotic use, increased length of stay and, possibly, increased mortality in ICU patients. Colonization of the oropharyngeal cavity with potentially pathogenic micro-organisms is instrumental in the pathogenesis of VAP, and selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD) with antibiotics (AB-SOD) or antiseptics, such as chlor...

New expensive treatments for hepatitis C infection.

Why is health care so expensive in the United States?

In the summer of 1998, I accepted what likely has turned out to be my final professional position in medical physics. When I arrived, my health insurance cost was about $240.00 per month, covering only my spouse and myself. Today, the cost for approximately the same policy has exploded to over $900.00 per month. None of you would be surprised at this; almost everyone in the United States has se...

Why is Medical Care Expensive in the U

Kaz Miyagiwa and Paul H. Rubin Abstract: One impetus for reform of the health care system in the United States is that in the U.S. more is spent on medical care than in other countries, with no noticeable difference in results. It is commonly thought that this is a result of a defect in the organization of medicine in the U.S. which can be repaired by “reform.” However, medicine is a labor inte...

Paediatric oncology and intensive care treatments: changing trends.

OBJECTIVES To review the outcome of patients with childhood malignancy requiring intensive care treatment and to assess whether there is any secular trend for improved outcome. DESIGN Retrospective chart reviews of 74 consecutive admissions to a paediatric intensive care unit from a regional paediatric oncology centre between 1990 and 1997. During the same period there were 6419 admissions to...