Postoperative pulmonary complications in the elderly are common and are a significant source of morbidity, mortality, and prolonged length of stay. Risk factors differ from the well-known risk factors for cardiac complications and can be divided into patient- and procedure-related factors. Patient-related factors include COPD, recent cigarette use, poor general health status as defined by Goldm...

We allocate agents to three kinds of hierarchical positions: top, medium, and low. No monetary transfers are allowed. We solve for the incentive-compatible (IC) mechanisms that maximize a family of weighted social welfares that includes utilitarian and Rawlsian welfares. When the market is tough (all agents bear positive risk of obtaining a low position in any IC and feasible mechanism), then t...

This project determined the effects of developing and implementing a preoperative instructional digital video disc (DVD) on patients' level of knowledge, preparedness, and perceived ability to participate in postoperative care activities. Content areas that were incorporated into the preoperative instructional DVD included: pain management, surgical drainage, vital signs, incentive spirometry, ...

This randomised controlled clinical trial investigated whether physiotherapy during the period of mechanical ventilation following cardiac surgery influenced subject outcomes. Two hundred and thirty-six subjects admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) following elective or semi-urgent cardiac surgery were randomised to either a treatment group, which received physiotherapy during the intubate...

Results The study included 10,200 patients; all were having firearm injuries leading to hemopneumothorax. Male to female ratio was 2:1. All patients were initially managed with tube thoracostomy. 400/10200 (3.92%) patients underwent emergency Thoracotomy, Rest of the patients i.e. 9801/10200 (96.07%) were hemodynamically stable and treated with low pressure suction and incentive spirometry. In ...

Preoperative pulmonary evaluation is important in the management of patients with lung disease who are undergoing elective cardiothoracic or noncardiothoracic surgery. In some instances, preoperative pulmonary evaluations may also contribute to the management of patients being considered for urgent surgery. The incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) is high and is associated ...

We determined whether directed rehabilitation affected survival, pain, depression, independence, and satisfaction with life for veterans who were nonambulatory after spinal epidural metastasis (SEM) treatment. We compared 12 consecutive paraplegic veterans who received 2 weeks of directed rehabilitation with a historical control group of 30 paraplegic veterans who did not receive rehabilitation...

[Purpose] This study evaluated the effects of air stacking on pulmonary function and peak cough flow in patients with cervical spinal cord injury. [Subjects] Twenty-six patients were included in the study and were randomized into experimental (n = 14) and control (n = 12) groups. [Methods] Both groups performed therapeutic exercises: the control group performed incentive spirometry, while the e...