OBJECTIVE In critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, daily interruption of sedative infusions decreases duration of mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit length of stay. Whether this sedation strategy reduces the incidence of complications commonly associated with critical illness is not known. DESIGN Blinded, retrospective chart review. SETTING University-based h...

BACKGROUND Patients requiring mechanical ventilation for prolonged periods typically are sicker and have more comorbid illnesses than do patients who can be weaned more rapidly. As a result, the weaning process is often complex, requiring shared decision making by a skilled, multidisciplinary team. Unfortunately, many of the structures used in critical care units to plan and evaluate care do no...

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to clarify physical parameters affecting the tidal volume during expiratory abdominal compression in patients with prolonged tracheostomy mechanical ventilation. [Methods] Eighteen patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation were included in this study. Expiratory abdominal compression was performed on patients lying in a supine position. The abdomen above...

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to examine, in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation, if the response of tidal volume during manually assisted breathing is dependent upon both upper extremity muscle tone and the pressure intensity of manually assisted breathing. [Subjects] We recruited 13 patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation, and assessed their upper extremity m...

BACKGROUND Patient-ventilator asynchrony is a common problem in mechanically ventilated patients; the problem is especially obvious in COPD. Neutrally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) can improve patient-ventilator asynchrony; however, the effect in COPD patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation is still unknown. The goals of this study are to evaluate the effect of NAVA and conventional...

Methods A total of 62 consecutive patients underwent CABG therapy within 14 days after the onset of myocardial infarction between September 2009 and January 2013 at our institution. Prospectively recorded preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were retrospectively screened for in-hospital mortality and major adverse postoperative events (low cardiac output syndrome, prolonged mech...

This paper includes information required for establishing and conducting an occupational therapy program in an intensive care unit. Three common problems in the intensive care unit are immobility and prolonged bed rest, sensory deprivation and stress, and prolonged mechanical ventilation. The resolution of these rehabilitation problems through occupational therapy intervention is addressed.

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that acute kidney injury (AKI) would be independently associated with increased morbidity and mortality. STUDY DESIGN A total of 96 consecutively cooled infants were reviewed retrospectively. Modified Acute Kidney Injury Network criteria were used to classify AKI based on absolute rise in serum creatinine (SCr) level from a previous trough (stage I, rise in SC...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Appropriate use of sedatives and analgesics is essential to keep critically ill patients comfortable and to prevent prolonged mechanical ventilation time and length of stay in ICU. Aim of this study was to analyse the long-term effect of an algorithm-based individual analgesic-sedative protocol on mechanical ventilation time and ICU length of stay in critically ill patients ...