Patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation are rapidly increasing in number. Improved ICU care has resulted in many patients surviving acute respiratory failure to require prolonged mechanical ventilation during convalescence. Also, mechanical ventilation is increasingly used as a therapeutic option for patients with symptomatic chronic hypoventilation, with an increased effort to pre...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Inspiratory muscle weakness and fatigue has been documented following prolonged mechanical ventilation despite successful weaning from mechanical ventilation. This report describes the application of inspiratory muscle training in two patients following successful discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU) after prolonged mechanical ventilation. METHODS Both patients u...

INTRODUCTION Associations between cumulative fluid balance and a prolonged duration of assisted mechanical ventilation have been described in adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether fluid balance in the first 48 hours of assisted mechanical ventilation initiation was associated with a prolonged duration of this process among children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). ...

background: ventilator-associated pneumonia (vap) is the most common nosocomial (hospital acquired) infection among patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. it increases mortality rate, duration of mechanical intubated ventilation, and hospitalization in the intensive care units (icus). this review study aims to determine the proper gradient of a hospital bed in preventing vap in patients ho...