Should noninvasive ventilation be considered a high-risk procedure during an epidemic?

Should noninvasive ventilation be considered a high-risk procedure during an epidemic?

Staphylococcus lugdunensis; a pathogen that should be considered in Iran

Background: Staphylococcus lugdunensis is Gram-positive cocci of the staphylococcaceae family. S. lugdunensis despite having a clotting factor (wall coagulase), was classified in the coagulase negative staphylococcus group (CoNS) for lack of free coagulase. Although this bacterium is part of the human normal flora, in terms of virulence, S. lugdunensis is in second place after S. aureus. S. lug...

Where should noninvasive ventilation be delivered?

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has assumed an important role in the management of certain types of respiratory failure in acute-care hospitals. However, the optimal location for NIV has been a matter of debate. Some have argued that all patients begun on NIV in the acute-care setting should go to an intensive care unit (ICU), but this is impractical because ICU beds are often unavailable, and it...

The consequences of withholding noninvasive ventilation during an epidemic.

The February issue of RESPIRATORY CARE published an article by Benditt, “Novel Uses of Noninvasive Ventilation,”1 which included a discussion on the possible risk of using noninvasive ventilation (NIV) with infectious patients during an epidemic. The author presented epidemiological data describing the safe and effective use of NIV during thesevereacute respiratorysyndrome (SARS) epidemic in Ch...

Should Euthanasia Be Considered Iatrogenic?

As more countries adopt laws and regulations concerning euthanasia, pediatric euthanasia has become an important topic of discussion. Conceptions of what constitutes harm to patients are fluid and highly dependent on a myriad of factors including, but not limited to, health care ethics, family values, and cultural context. Euthanasia could be viewed as iatrogenic insofar as it results in an out...